Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2
by malicent
Summary: Jayfeathers back, free from Crowfeathers cruel grasp and harsh torture. Twenty year later, Jayfeather and Kits children Eli and Sparks go through life, disturbed and uncontent. But horror doen't seem to rid this family, making death the only thinkable option for peace.
1. After the Torture

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 1: After the Torture

_Hello, world_

_You're so cold_

_My heart beats like frozen gold_

_Hard to find, out of reach_

_Lose my breath and blank my speech _

_Hearings gone, sight impaired_

_Like I'm drunk without a care_

_Click, click_

_Pulse fails_

_Life support or go to jail?_

"Can I borrow your lighter?" Eli asked. Sparks looked up from the book he was reading to see his sister standing awkwardly in front of him, shifting her feet nervously.

"Why the hell do you need a lighter?" Sparks mumbled. "Gonna go smoke some crack?"

"Dad asked me to get it for him," Eli mumbled, annoyed.

"Why couldn't dad get it himself?"

"He's not feeling well and doesn't want to get off the couch," Eli explained.

"I think he's just making excuses to be lazy," Sparks replied, throwing his red lighter at Eli. "Make sure he gives it back."

"I will," Eli promised, and then walked out of his room. She walked down the stairs to where her dad sat in the living room, combing her fingers through her short brown hair to brush out the tangles.

"Here dad," Eli tossed him the lighter. "Sparks wants me to make sure you'll give it back."

"I will," Jayfeather sighed. "Jeez it's like he doesn't think I have any responsibility at all."

"Where's mom?" Eli asked, realizing she hadn't seen her mother since breakfast. "Did she get called in to work today?"

"No," Jayfeather said as he lit his cigarette. "She went to spend the day at your aunts house."

"Oh," Eli grumbled, and the picture of her aunt's face crossed her mind involuntarily. Her aunt, Hollyleaf, was Jayfeathers alcoholic sister who always insisted she needed to borrow money for her rent. Jayfeather told her kindly that she could stay at their place, because he thought her dirty apartment was gross and not fit to live in. Hollyleaf had taken this invitation to heart, and was now inviting herself to dinner three times a week and walked in without knocking as if she owned the place. The last time she was over, Hollyleaf had spent an entire hour explaining to Eli that if she continued to dress like a 12 year old boy, the only boyfriend she would ever had would be either blind, deaf, or retarded. Eli despised her.

"She'll be coming over for dinner tonight," Jayfeather announced, snapping Eli out of her thoughts.

"Oh that's a surprise," Eli said sarcastically.

"I didn't want her to come either," Jayfeather smiled slightly. "But she somehow found out we were going to be having steaks."

"Remember last time we had steaks?" Eli snapped, wincing as her tone sounded a lot more sharp than she intended. "She swiped two off the grill and put them in her bag for later!"

"Those were expensive steaks too," Jayfeather agreed crossly. "This time I'm going to keep a better eye on them."

"Make Sparks stand guard."

"That will not be helpful at all," Jayfeather muttered. "He'll eat them all himself." Jayfeather threw the lighter back at Eli. "Give this back to your brother," he said, smiling kindly. "And tell him I said thank you."

"Okay."

Jayfeather shifted his eyes back down to his newspaper and didn't say anything else. Eli noticed he looked wary, but that was no surprise. Lately Jayfeather had been acting wary of everything. Eli couldn't help but glance down at her father's hands. His white scars had turned purple against his skin, tracing up through his fingers and down his wrists. His plaid flannel shirt hid the rest. Eli tried not to think about how he was a bit odd for a father, and failed. Jayfeather was very young to be a dad; he was 32 years old while the rest of Eli's friend's fathers were near 50. Jayfeather didn't really look like a dad, either. His hair was getting long again, brushing the tips of his eyelashes at the front. A week ago Eli had told him he needed a haircut, but that only succeeded in Jayfeather going off on a rant of how barbers always screwed up his hair.

"If I want a haircut, I'll get a haircut!" he had yelled. "But I'm not letting no punk ass barber screw up my hair again."

Jayfeather was also very skinny, but he hid his scrawny frame with baggy clothes that only succeeded in making him look skinnier. Jayfeather had a collection of about 12 different coloured plaid shirts, which he wore every day on a regular basis. He refused to wear anything else, even to a formal occasion. One time Kit had a formal business dinner, and she had forbid Jayfeather from wearing a plaid shirt. She dressed him up in a white dress shirt and told him he wasn't aloud to change. Jayfeather had worn the shirt to the dinner, but had brought one of his shirts in his briefcase. The second he got the chance he ran to the bathroom and changed. Kit was so angry, but he refused to take off his blue flannel plaid shirt. Eli remembered them arguing about that for days. Besides his odd appearance, Jayfeather also didn't act like a father. Often he tried to hard, or didn't try hard enough. But he was always kind, Eli thought he was the nicest man in the world. But Eli knew he was damaged, well, emotion wise that is. His eyes were always so hollow, dead to the world even when he was smiling. He had told Eli a long time ago that Kit and him had gone through some very difficult things when they were young, but neither of them had ever given her a straight answer of what happened. Jayfeather just said his father, Crowfeather, had physically abused them. When Eli asked how, Jayfeather just shook his head and told her he would tell her when she was older.

"What?" Jayfeather asked.

Eli snapped back to reality, realizing she had zoned off lost in thought. "Nothing," Eli mumbled. "I was just thinking that you need a haircut."

"MY HAIR IS FINE!" Jayfeather howled. Then he winked and smiled, to show he was kidding. "I'll get around to it eventually."

* * *

_"Kit," Jayfeather whispered. "Kit, please, please wake up."_

_ Kits head lolled to one side, eyes stretched wide open in disbelief at what she just saw. Crowfeather lay in front of her, blood pooling on the ground. His eyes were wide in terror, and the electric collar buzzed in the distance. _

_ "He's dead," Kit didn't know how she managed to function to talk, but the words just bled from her. "He's gone."_

_ "He's gone," Jayfeathers eyes were scared. "Are you okay?"_

_ "I can't breathe," Kit choked. Her breath came in short gasps, and she felt her brain numb with the lack of oxygen._

_ "I called an ambulance," Jayfeather said, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "They'll be here soon. I need you to help me get rid of Crowfeathers body."_

* * *

Sparks sat in his room, trying to plug in his TV. The cord was messed up, because Sparks had accidentally dragged his dresser over it, which resulted in stripping the wires. The picture on Sparks TV flickered on and off, making Sparks hiss in annoyance. He leaned forward to grab the plug out of the outlet, but accidentally brushed against the naked wire. He jumped back with a jolt as a buzzing sensation flew through his arm. It stung, but Sparks found himself smiling. He slowly reached out and touched the wire with his finger. Tiny blue volts shot through his skin again. It tingled. He grasped the wire with his full hand, closing his fingers into a fist around the wire. Shock waves flew through him, making the hairs on his arms stand straight up. Sparks then let go, and examined his hand. Little white scars had formed on the palm of his hand. His eyes drifted up to his wrists, where other fading scars lay. Sparks liked electricity, a lot.

He liked the way it made him feel.

He liked the way it burned his skin.


	2. Shocking the Shocked

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 2: Shocking the Shocked

_You and I go hard at each other _

_Like we're going to war_

_You and I go rough, we keep throwing things_

_And slamming the doors_

_You and I get so damn dysfunctional we stopped keeping score_

_You and I get sick and I know that we can't do this no more_

Eli looked across the table at her aunt Hollyleaf, who was in the process of dumping some sort of amber liquid into her paper juice cup. No one else had noticed, not even Sparks, who was staring straight at her but was completely zoned out. Eli had a nagging thought that he was stoned again.

"So anyways, I walked into the store and the guy took one look at me and told me I looked like a bum!" Jayfeather yelled. Eli jumped at his raised voice, completely forgetting her father was in the middle of telling a story.

"Why did he say that?" Kit asked politely, giving Sparks a glare as he snorted.

"I don't know, can't a man have stubble on his face and uncombed hair and not be accused of being a bum?" Jayfeather mumbled, scratching the stubble on his cheek as he spoke.

"You always look like a bum," Sparks muttered.

Jayfeathers head whipped around to look at his son. "What?" he asked, shocked.

Sparks eyes flew wide open, as if he thought he had not said that out loud.

"Sparks, apologize to your father," Hollyleaf slurred from where she was sitting. Kit leaned over and gently informed her that she spilled her drink on her shirt. Hollyleaf wheezed some sort of noise and raised her cup to her lips again. Eli sighed as more juice/rum sloshed onto her blouse.

"Dad I was kidding," Sparks stammered, obviously lying. "I just meant you look sort of homeless when you don't wash or comb your hair for a week. It sticks up funny, kind of like the way it is now."

Jayfeather combed his fingers through his hair and smiled slightly. "I guess it is getting a little greasy."

"Can I have another steak so I can have it for supper tomorrow?" Hollyleaf interrupted.

"No," Jayfeather snapped, annoyed.

"You don't need to be rude," Hollyleaf growled, taking a big gulp of her "orange juice".

"Is everyone done?" Kit asked, desperately trying to stop the angry tension that was escalating fast. "I can go grab dessert!"

"Let me get it, mom," Sparks smiled.

"Thank you," Kit beamed. Sparks nodded and headed back inside to the kitchen. Eli followed, suspicious of her brothers out of character kindness. He didn't hear her, and Eli decided not to make herself noticed until she was standing less than two feet away from him.

"What's your deal?" she said. Sparks seemed to jump six feet into the air in surprise.

"God, Eli," he said, holding his chest in fake surprise. "You scared me."

"Are you stoned?" Eli hissed, poking him in the eyeball.

"OW," Sparks screamed.

"You are!" Eli whisper shrieked. "Where you with Zelia again?"

"Yeah," Sparks snapped. "Why do you care?"

"You told dad you stopped doing drugs when he caught you in the basement!" Eli narrowed her eyes at him, making Sparks look more uncomfortable by the second.

"Well, shit happens," he said at last.

"Is that all you've got to say for yourself? _Shit happens?" _Eli more or less screamed the words.

"I don't need to listen to this," Sparks said angrily, grabbing the cake off the counter. "You're my sister, not my fucking mom." Then he pushed past her and stalked back out onto the deck. Eli rolled her eyes and walked out after him. She opened the door to the deck to find Jayfeather hollering at the top of his lungs.

"I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULDN'T HAVE ANY CAKE!" he screeched.

"WELL I COULDN'T HAVE ANY STEAK SO I FIGURED YOU WERE TOO CHEAP TO GIVE ME A PIECE OF CAKE!" Hollyleaf screamed back.

"I DID GIVE YOU A GODDAMN STEAK YOU FREAKING MOOCH! ALL I EVER GIVE YOU IS STEAK STEAK STEAK AND NOOOOO YOU HAVE TO GO AND BE A BITCH AND FUCKING YELL AT ME FOR NO GOOD REASON-" Jayfeather stopped yelling mid word when Kit gently touched his arm and told him he was being rude. Eli decided she had enough of family time for one evening and stalked back inside.

**(Page break)**

Zelia sat on the park bench, rubbing her bare arms with her numb hands. It was freezing outside, even though it was only October. _Sparks better get here soon, _Zelia thought to herself. _If he's late again I am going to lose it. _Frost was beginning to grow on Zelia's long black eyelashes, clumping into the mascara. Zelia could feel it running down her face, but she was too cold to care. Footsteps behind her made her breathe a sigh of relief. _Sparks! _She turned around, and even though it hurt to smile, her lips stretched into a wide grin.

"Hey," Sparks said as he sat down next to her. His breath billowed out around his face like a cloud of smoke.

"Hello," Zelia replied, teeth chattering.

"Why aren't you wearing a coat?" Sparks asked disapprovingly.

"I lost it," Zelia admitted. Sparks rolled his eyes. "Where?"

"I don't know. If I knew where it was, it wouldn't be lost."

Sparks took off his hat and handed it to her. "Put this on," he said in annoyance. "You're shaking."

Zelia took that hat from him and pulled it on over her long red hair. "Thank you," she mumbled.

"Yeah no problem," Sparks replied. "Anyways, I wanted to show you something."

"What?" Zelia asked.

Sparks pulled out a lightbulb attached to a small battery pack.

"Is this some sort of weird meth thing?" Zelia sighed.

"For gods sakes no," Sparks snapped. "Just hold out your hand."

Zelia held out her hand, and Sparks turned on the battery. "Touch the wire," he instructed. Zelia inspected the intertwined blue and red wires with caution.

"The wire is shredded in the middle," she pointed out.

"I know," Sparks smiled slightly. "Just touch the bare part. Trust me, it's better than any drug we've ever tried."

Zelia reached out her hand and grasped the wire.

Sparks flipped a switch on his battery pack.

The electricity hit Zelia with such a volt it made her scream. She ripped her hand off the wire and stared at Sparks with wide eyes. "That HURT!" she yelled.

"No it doesn't," Sparks smiled. "Once you get used to it."

"You're crazy," Zelia murmured, clutching her tingling hand. She wished her dad had not taken her mittens and hid them.

"Whatever," Sparks said, putting the device back into his pocket.

"I have to go," Zelia said. "Dad made me promise to be home by 1."

"I didn't think it was that late," Sparks said, surprised. "It feels like it should be six or so."

"But it's so dark," Zelia said quietly, raising her head to look up at the stars.

"Yeah. Well, you have a good night," Sparks said awkwardly. Zelia leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. "Goodbye," she whispered. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

Sparks drew his arms around her too, moving way less smoothly then she did. "I think so. Just call me when you wake up."

"I wake up at seven," Zelia muttered.

"It's Saturday tomorrow?" Sparks said in disbelief. "You don't have school so why would you get up that early?"

"It's just the way my brain is wired," Zelia said, releasing her arms on Sparks.

"Well, call me anyway," Sparks called over his shoulder.

"What if you're sleeping?"

"I don't care."

"You forgot your hat!" Zelia called, realizing she was still wearing it.

"Keep it!" Sparks called back, his voice echoing in the distance. "You look like you need it more than I do."


	3. Zelia's Mistake

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 3: Zelia's Mistake

_Your thoughts grow restless, you just want to leave_

_This life you were living that no one could see_

_To end your sadness, you end it yourself_

_Because no one heard you screaming for help_

_Now you're gone, stars laughed_

_Ice melts, bones snap_

_Sparks flew, bells rang_

_Death cried, souls sang_

Kit was standing by the door, waiting patiently for her husband to button up his coat. Jayfeathers fingers fumbled with the small buttons, and he repeatedly tried to stuff them into the fabric instead of the holes.

"Do you want me to help you?" Kit asked gently for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

"I almost got it," Jayfeather grumbled, mashing the top button into the tan fabric. "Can't I just wear my other coat? I hate this one."

"Sparks spilled juice on it," Kit snapped. "Just leave the damn buttons if it's too difficult."

"Thank you," Jayfeather retorted sarcastically.

"Now let's go," Kit said, trying to calm her frustration. "We're already ten minutes late."

"I don't want to go to counseling today," Jayfeather grumbled. "I have chores to do."

"You have nothing to do and you know it," Kit replied as she walked out the door. "I think you were just planning to watch TV."

Jayfeather didn't reply, eyes narrowing in irritation.

**(Page break)**

_Kit watched Jayfeather trying to drag Crowfeathers body, wishing she was able to help. She couldn't even move her fingers, and Kit had a suspicious thought that her brain had permanently erased how to move. _

"_I can't move him," Jayfeather whispered, letting go of the body. "He's too heavy."_

"_They'll be here soon," Kit mumbled, but it came out sounding like "Hyle ere on." _

_Jayfeather walked over to her, eyes brimming with tears. All Kit could do was force herself not to close her eyes._

"_Say my name," Jayfeather said quietly._

"_Ayeter."_

_A tear fell down Jayfeathers cheek. "You're going to be okay," his promise was filled with doubt. "Everything will be just fine."_

"_I love you," Kit said. It came out like "Ive oo." _

"_What?" Jayfeather asked, looking off into the distance as he spoke. He could hear the ambulance bells ringing closer and closer. _

"_Goodbye," Kit said. This time it came out clearly. _

_Then her eyes went black, and she felt herself fall over to the ground._

**(Page break)**

"Oh my god, my hair looks horrible," Eli groaned as she looked into the mirror. Her friend Mere rolled her eyes.

"It's fine, it always looks fine," she pointed out. "Now can you hurry up? We're going to be late for math."

Eli combed her fingers through her short brown hair one last time before grabbing her binder off the counter. "Okay. Let's go."

Mere turned to grab the door handle but stopped, as someone was already opening it to come inside the bathroom.

"Hey," Mere nodded to the girl, who smiled shyly and proceeded to wash her hands under the dirty faucet.

"I didn't see you in English," Mere said. "Skipping again?"

"Yeah," the girl tossed her long red hair over her shoulder. "I had more important things to do." Then she turned and looked Eli straight in the eye. "Hello, Eli."

"Hi, Zelia," Eli mumbled. Then she turned to Mere. "Are we going to go?"

"Yeah," Mere replied. "See you later, Zelia."

Zelia gave no indication that she had heard, and Mere and Eli walked out of the bathroom in silence. They waited until they were farther down the hall before Eli spoke again.

"I don't know why you're friends with her," Eli said disgustedly.

"We go through this conversation every time I talk to her," Mere grumbled.

"Well I just don't _get it!" _Eli cried. "You two are complete opposites, not to mention she's constantly high on something!"

"I know why she does drugs, trust me," Mere said. "I went over to her house once and holy jeez you should have seen her dad."

"What's wrong with her dad?" Eli asked.

"He hit her clean across the face when I was standing not even four feet away."

"Oh…"

"And it wasn't just a bitch slap," Mere explained. "It was a solid punch."

"That's awful," Eli said, her irritation towards Zelia ebbed away slightly.

"The worst thing is," Mere whispered as they walked in the door to their math room. "Her dad is a respected doctor. No one would believe he's cruel to his daughter."

"Is he like, a brain surgeon?" Eli asked as she took her seat. Thankfully the class was sitting around talking still, so one noticed she and Mere arrive late.

"No. He works at a mental institution, his name is Osl."

"Oh, okay," Eli said, voice monotone. She was losing interest in talking about Zelia and her first world problems. "I just don't like the way she got my brother into drugs."

"Isn't Sparks like, graduated?" Mere asked.

"Yeah he's eighteen years old. I don't know why he hangs out with girls the same age as me," Eli said crossly.

"Class can I have your attention?" the teacher, Mr. Colts called. The talking died down until it was completely silent. Mr. Colts waited a solid twenty seconds to speak even though the room was already dead silent.

"We have two new students, who just moved here over the weekend. Will Xavier and Millicent please stand up and wave hello?"

Eli turned her head to see two similar looking kids rise to their feet. The girl looked very uncomfortable, standing completely straight with her arms pressed awkwardly at her sides. She had long stick straight black hair, which was so shiny it looked almost greasy. The boy was quite opposite, waving to the class with such enthusiasm it nearly hurt to watch. Like his sister, he had jet black hair as well. It was quite long and flopped down towards his nose, but he didn't even seem to notice. His cheeks were rosy like a little kids, which highlighted his features. His facial structure was stunning, with his high cheekbones and big eyes. He reminded Eli of a young deer standing in the snow.

"Everyone make sure to make Xavier and Millicent welcome, for we are nice people, who do nice things," Mr. Colts smiled and abruptly dropped down to sit in his chair behind a wooden desk. "Now everyone turn to page 34 in your textbook and don't talk to me until you're done the assignment."

**(Page break)**

Zelia rubbed her hands together as she waited for her dad to pick her up. She was very cold, and she wished he would hurry. She heard laughing behind her, it was Eli and Mere. Mere turned to smile at her as she walked by, but Eli made a big show of not making eye contact. Zelia just rolled her eyes. A dark green car then pulled up into the schools parking lot, and Zelia could see her dads face peering out through the windshield. Zelia's insides went cold.

He looked angry again.

Zelia stuffed her freezing hands into her pockets and trudged through the snow to the car. When she opened the door, she could feel her father's ice cold gaze boring into her.

"I didn't see you last night," he pointed out as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"You were sleeping when I got home," Zelia explained.

"And when were you supposed to be home?" the dad hissed.

"One at the latest," Zelia whispered.

"When did you get in?"

"A few minutes before one."

"Stupid girl," the dad muttered demonically. "Get your shit together, Zelia. Stupid girl."

"I'm sorry," Zelia said quietly.

"I don't fucking care. Are you going to see that boy again tonight?"

"I was going to," Zelia replied. "Sparks doesn't work today so we'll probably meet up in the park."

"Are you ever going to introduce me?" the dad asked sarcastically.

"Sure," Zelia mumbled, with no intentions whatsoever of doing so.

"What's his name? Sparky?"

"Sparks," Zelia corrected.

"What the fuck kind of name is that?" the dad scoffed. "Who are his parents?"

"Their names are Jayfeather and Kit," Zelia replied, wishing he would stop talking.

She was not looking at her father's expression.

She did not see the look that crossed his face when she told him the name of Sparks's parents.


	4. The Feelings We Hide

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning

Chapter 4: The Feelings We Hide

_My girlfriends, a dick magnet_

_My girlfriend, gotta hand it_

_She's hot, can't stop_

_Up on stage, doing shots_

_Hits the man who rings the bell_

_Get her drunk she'll scream like hell_

_Dirty girl, getting down_

_Dance with guys from outta town_

_No one really knows_

_That she's drunker if she's stoned_

_And she's coming back to my place tonight!_

"Can you help me?" Kit asked. Jayfeather looked over to see Kit fumbling with her machine. The tubes leading to her neck were tangled in her necklace.

"Here," Jayfeather reached over and gently untangled the wires.

"Thank you," Kit smiled at him. Jayfeather smiled back, eyes filling with sadness. He hated the way Kit couldn't breathe without lugging that machine around with her. He hated the way she had to wear a mask over her mouth when she slept. And most of all, he hated the fact that it was his father that had done this to her.

"If you didn't meet me you wouldn't need that," Jayfeather mumbled.

"It's no big deal," Kit grunted as she struggled to lift up the heavy machine. "I'm used to it. If it was gone, I'd probably miss it."

"I'm so sorry," Jayfeather whispered. It felt like he was transported back 20 years, back in the days when they were young. He remembered everything vividly, as if it were yesterday.

**(Page break)**

"_Jayfeather! JAYFEATHER!"_

_Jayfeather woke with a start, alarm pulsing through his body. He jumped out of bed and flew down the hall to Kit's room._

_Kit sat huddled under her blankets, her blonde hair peeking out the cracks. _

"_Hey," Jayfeather said softly, sitting down at the end of her bed. "What's the matter?"_

_Kit pulled the blanket off her head, and Jayfeather tried not to visibly wince. Kit had a mask over her mouth, with various tubes and cords attaching to a machine placed next to her bed. She wore no shirt, as there were more wires placed on her chest with stickers. _

"_I had that dream again," Kit whispered, her voice muffled from the mask. _

"_Are you okay?" Jayfeather asked, brushing his long black hair out of his eyes. _

"_I'm fine," Kit muttered. "I'm sorry I woke you."_

_Jayfeather and Kit were living in the basement of Leafpools (Jayfeathers mother) house. It had been a few weeks since Crowfeather had died, but it still felt like it was yesterday. _

_Crowfeather was a man of many mental illnesses, electricity being one of his favorite things. He had put Jayfeather and Lionblaze (Jayfeathers brother) through "electric shock therapy" when they were four. Jayfeather had survived, but Lionblaze didn't. He abused Jayfeather for many, many years after that, but when he tried to put Jayfeather in the electric chair again, he ran away. Growing up with only Flametail, (Jayfeathers imaginary friend) Jayfeather developed many ticks in his brain. The biggest one was his split personality, which led him to believe Lionblaze was still alive. Crowfeather caught up to him, and shot Jayfeather. It didn't kill him, but led him to a nervous breakdown which landed him into a mental institution. This is when Jayfeather met Kit, the doctor's assistant who was assigned to treat him. Crowfeather didn't give up. Jayfeather didn't know for sure, but he had a nagging suspicion that Doctor Osl was helping Crowfeather. He couldn't think of another reasonable explanation on how Crowfeather knew who Kit was. Crowfeather had found Kit one day, when she was walking to work. He kidnapped her and placed her in a room with no light. After, he continuously electrocuted her, with a shock collar which he locked around her neck. The day Crowfeather died, he had the volts running through the collar so high that it permanently damaged Kit's brain._

_Her brain turned off the ability to breathe._

_Jayfeather reached out and touched Kit's cheek, and she looked up in surprise. Since the horrid day when Crowfeather died, neither of them had shown much affection towards one another. For the past few weeks they spent talking, and sitting close to one another. _

_It was almost as if they had forgotten how to love._

"_I love you," Jayfeather whispered. "I love you so much. We're going to get through this, I promise."_

"_I love you too," Kits voice cracked with emotion. "And do you really think we can get through this? Do you really think it's possible for us to have a normal life now?"_

"_We're going to have a great life," Jayfeather promised determinedly. "When we're adults we're gonna have a beautiful house. We're gonna have so many nice things that I will buy for you."_

"_What if we ever have kids?" Kit whispered, her grip tightening on Jayfeathers hand. "They will grow up so disturbed."_

"_If we have kids, they will grow up completely normal," Jayfeather said, face growing red from the commitment. "I will love them so much it will be impossible for them to turn out the way my father did."_

"_I don't want to wear this mask anymore," Kit cried, tears running down her face. "I don't like this!" _

_Jayfeather had to literally choke back his sadness, which threatened to bring tears. "You have to wear it," he said numbly. "But I will always help you. No matter what you do, no matter where you are, I will hold your hand until our last dying days."_

_Kit pulled the blanket over her naked chest and reached her arms out. Jayfeather leaned over and hugged her, holding her tightly. _

"_Kids?" a new voice entered the room. Jayfeather looked over to the door to see his mother standing there in her nightgown._

"_What are you doing up so late?" Leafpool asked, rubbing her tired eyes. _

"_I had the dream again," Kit explained, tugging her blanket farther over herself. "It was scary."_

"_Are you okay?" Leafpools voice was concerned. _

"_Yeah," Kit whispered. "I started screaming, Jayfeather was just checking on me."_

"_You poor dear," Leafpool sighed. "You know that horrible man can never hurt you again, right?"_

"_I know," Kit nodded her head one too many times. The tubes in her neck shook while she nodded. _

"_You're safe now," Leafpool murmured. "No one will ever hurt you again," then she leaned over and kissed Jayfeather on the cheek, and touched Kits cheek. It was such a loving gesture Jayfeather nearly didn't know how to respond. _

"_Go to sleep," Leafpool said, walking back to her doorway. "And Jayfeather?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Sleep in your own bed, please."_

_Jayfeathers face turn red and he looked down. Despite her tears, Kit giggled. _

**(Page break)**

"Hey dad," Sparks said as he walked into the kitchen. Jayfeather turned to look at his son, coffee mug in hand.

"Good morning," Jayfeather yawned, taking a sip of his coffee. "Why are you up?"

"Can't a person enjoy their morning without getting interrogated?" Sparks said crossly.

"It's … seven thirty on a Saturday," Jayfeather said, confused. "You usually don't get up for another six hours."

"Zelia called me," Sparks said in a rush.

"I didn't hear the phone ring," Jayfeather pointed out, sloshing more coffee into his cup. He took a big gulp of it, and nearly spat it right back out. "It's scalding hot," he said. "I burned my tongue!" Jayfeather stuck out his tongue and flapped it around.

Sparks stared in annoyance.

"Uh, great dad, but I was going to ask you if I could borrow fifty dollars."

"Fifty?!" Jayfeather cried. "What for?"

"Is that really important?" Sparks asked. "I just ran out of money, and I need some until I get paid."

"You can have twenty," Jayfeather pulled out a bill from his pocket. "But that's it. I don't want you to spend it on anything harmful to your health."

"I won't," Sparks lied. "I'm gonna go meet Zelia now, see you in a few hours."

"Bye," Jayfeather raised a hand to wave but it was in vain, as Sparks was already gone.

Jayfeather didn't understand how someone could physically put on their coat, stuff a bagel down their throat, put on shoes and get to the end of the driveway in seven seconds. He sighed and poured himself more coffee.

Sparks ran down the road, wondering why Zelia sounded so upset on the phone.

_Nobody better have touched her, _Sparks thought mutinously. _If anyone hurt her I'll kill them. _

Sparks tried not to think about what he would do to someone if they hurt Zelia. He didn't get this defensive over his other friends, but that was probably because he didn't have feelings for them.

He didn't miss his other friends the way he missed Zelia.

He didn't love his other friends.

Sparks tried not to think about the L word, it always made his blood chill. But he knew what he felt for Zelia wasn't just a strong friendship.

He was in love with her.

Of course, she would never know that, as Sparks treated her like all his other friends.

_If she knew what I felt then she would run away, _Sparks thought to himself. _She doesn't think of me in that way, and she never will. _Sparks knew he was just making stuff up to compensate for the fact that he really had no idea if Zelia liked him in that way or not.

**(Page break)**

Zelia rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting for Sparks to show up. Her ears were turning red from the cold, and she could see her breath in front of her. It looked as though she were smoking, her breath billowing out in wisps and swirls. Zelia distracted herself from the cold by wondering if smoking would warm her insides. _Well if it's on fire, then it must make you warm, _Zelia thought. But she knew she was missing some logic in that theory. The sound of footsteps distracted her, and she looked up hopefully. Her excitement was crushed when she realized it was just a person walking by.

_I wish Sparks would get here soon, _Zelia thought, rocking even faster on her heels. The trees spun as she moved. Zelia knew Sparks would be annoyed she had asked him to meet her so early.

But he was the only one she wanted to see.

He was the one, who she loved.

He was, the one.


	5. Halloween Part 1

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 5: Halloween Part 1

_Boys and girls of every age_

_Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_

_Come with us and you will see_

_This odd town of Halloween_

"Eli!" Jayfeather screamed. "Mere is on the phone!"

"Coming!" Eli screamed back, and then ran out of her room down the stairs. Jayfeather stood in the living room, smoke in one hand and phone in the other.

"Thanks," Eli mumbled, taking the phone from him. Jayfeather just nodded and took a long drag off his cigarette.

"What's up?" Eli asked, walking back upstairs to her room. When she passed Sparks room though, she stopped.

She could smell smoke.

"One second," Eli grumbled into the phone.

"HURRY UP I GOTTA TELL YOU SOMETHING!" Meres tinny voice called. Eli ignored her and proceeded to bang on the door of Sparks room with her fists.

"Sparks!" Eli yelled. She heard some coughing and shuffling around before Sparks finally answered the door.

"For fucks sake," Sparks hissed, waving the smoky air with his hands. "I thought you were dad."

"What are you doing?" Eli whisper shrieked. The smell of marijuana made her stomach hurt.

"I was just uh, burning some paper," Sparks said at last.

"Bull _shit! _ You're eyes are redder than the devil," Eli pointed out crossly.

"What are you, my effing mom?" Sparks rolled his eyes. "Beat it."

Then he slammed the door in Eli's face. Eli sighed heavily and proceeded to walk to her room. She shut the door behind her, and then raised the phone to her ear again.

"I'm back," Eli said into the phone. "Sorry I just had to talk to Sparks for a second.

"Was he smoking weed in his room again?" Mere asked, laughing slightly. "What an idiot."

"I know," Eli didn't think it was funny but she forced herself to laugh anyway. "So what's up? What did you have to tell me?"

"Oh my god," Mere squealed. "You know Xavier? The new kid in our math class?"

"Yeah?"

"He asked me out!" Mere screamed. Eli had to hold the phone away from her ear until Meres screams died down.

"That's great!" Eli said at last, trying to sound encouraging. Personally she though Xavier was a little strange but she kept that to herself.

"We're going out, tonight," Mere said. Eli could tell she was making an honest effort not to start shrieking again.

"That's great… wait…" Eli said, voice trailing off. She picked off a piece of lint on her sweater as she spoke. "I thought we were going trick or treating tonight."

"SCREW trick or treating!" Mere said excitedly. "We're fifteen years old for crying out loud! Let's go to a party!"

"A party?" Eli said numbly, not wanting to admit she had never been to a party in her life. She had never even drank, besides a gulp of rum which she stole from Jayfeather. It was so gross she spat it right back out into the sink.

"Yes, a party!" Mere cried. "We can dress up like skanks and get hammered!"

"I don't want to dress up slutty," Eli whined. "Besides, I already have a costume."

"You can't seriously wear the cat costume again," Mere groaned. "You wear it every year!"

Eli thought about her costume, which was just a pair of cat ears and a jumpsuit. "I like my cat costume."

"I'm gonna come over," Mere said, ignoring Eli completely. "See you in ten minutes."

The she hung up, and Eli threw the phone across the room in annoyance.

_**Page break**_

_Jayfeather sighed, looking impatiently at his watch. He had to be at work in ten minutes, and he still hadn't brushed his teeth because Kit was hogging the bathroom. He worked full time dish washing at a restaurant called Catianas. _

_But I won't even have a job there much longer if I show up late again, Jayfeather thought to himself crossly. It had been three years since Crowfeathers death, Jayfeather was now 17 and Kit was 20. Kit ironically worked in the city's hospital, as a doctor's assistant. Needless to say, she made more money than Jayfeather did. Jayfeather scowled as he thought about his problem with getting jobs. Turns out, not many people were in the market for hiring a grade 7 dropout kid who once spent time in a mental institution. Jayfeather looked at his watch again, starting to wonder just what the heck Kit was doing in the bathroom._

"_Kit!" Jayfeather yelled, banging his fists against the door. "Can I at least come in there to brush my teeth?"_

_Then the door flew open, and Kits mascara streaked face stared out at him. _

"_I'm pregnant," Kit cried, and then she slammed the door in Jayfeathers face again._

"_Shit," Jayfeather whispered. _

_**Page break**_

"Hey. Eli."

Eli looked up to see Sparks standing at her door. His hair was a mess and his eyes were completely bloodshot. "I think your friend's here."

"Thanks," Eli mumbled, getting up off her bed. She was so disappointed with Sparks she couldn't even bring herself to look him in the eye as she walked past him.

"Hey!" Mere called from the doorway.

"Hi," Eli folded her arms across her chest. She hated it when Mere invited herself over without her consent.

"Let's go get changed," Mere said, grabbing Eli by the arm and dragging her upstairs. "It's four o' clock now so we have only five hours to get ready."

"Would you care to explain what we're doing?" Eli grumbled as Mere dragged her back up to her room.

"We're gonna get all dressed up," Mere threw a duffel bag stuffed with clothes onto Elis bed. "And we're gonna drink this," Mere yanked a fairly large bottle of some sort of amber liquid out of her backpack.

"I thought the whole purpose of going to a party was to drink there," Eli stalled. "Not to drink beforehand."

"Pre drinking before a party makes the party so much better," Mere explained, unzipping her duffel bag and yanking out handfuls of clothes.

"I dunno," Eli said precariously, reading the 40% alcohol content on the label. "My dad's home."

"He won't care," Mere shrugged. "When I walked in he had a cup of liquid that wasn't water in his hand."

"It could have been sprite."

"His breath sure didn't smell like sprite."

"Okay, whatever," Eli sighed. Then her eyes drifted towards a box of hair dye Mere had pulled out of her bag.

"Are you dying your hair bleach blonde?" Eli asked, holding up the box of peroxide.

"No," Mere smiled. "You are."

**Later**

"Are you sure it looks good?" Eli slurred, combing her fingers through her newly dyed hair. Mere nodded drunkenly from where she was sitting. "It looks so good," Mere smiled. "Want another drink?"

"Yes please."

Mere sloshed some more of the alcohol into Elis cup, sloshing some on her shirt as she did so. Eli gulped it down, not caring anymore.

She was drunk, and the world seemed so beautiful.


	6. Halloween Part 2

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 6: Halloween Part 2

_Last night I blacked out I think! _

_What did you_

_What did you_

_Put in my drink_

"I feel so weird," Eli said crossly. Mere threw her hands up in frustration. "That's the tenth fucking time you've said that!" she all but screamed. Eli yanked down her skirt which was way to short in her opinion. "I'm gonna get freaking raped in this."

"For gods sake," Mere hissed.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Eli apologized. "I just never dress like this, like, ever."

"We're going to a _party," _Mere explained. "Everyone will be dressed like this."

"Fine," Eli mumbled. "But what do we tell my dad?"

"We'll tell him we're just going to go hang out at Xaviers, and then you're coming to my place," Mere said.

"He won't let me out of the house in this_," _Eli muttered.

"He's probably too drunk to care," Mere held up her hand to dismiss the matter. "I saw him drinking wine before."

"Okay," Eli sighed. "Let's just go."

...

_The sound of a baby crying woke Jayfeather, making him claw his hair with frustration. It was the fourth time Sparks had woken up in the past two hours. He rolled around in his bed and shook Kit to wake her up. She woke with a start, eyes opening wide in alarm. _

"_Sparks is crying," Jayfeather mumbled. "Go see what he wants."_

"_Can't you do it?" Kit growled, rolling back over. "I did it last time."_

"_I have to be at work in four hours," Jayfeather said angrily. _

"_Well so do fucking I." _

"_FINE!" Jayfeather snapped, throwing back the blankets and getting to his feet. He stumbled into Sparks room, where his 6 month old son lay in his crib. Jayfeather walked over to him and picked Sparks up. _

"_Stop crying," Jayfeather whispered. _

_Sparks screamed even louder._

"_I said STOP CRYING!" Jayfeather yelled. The baby didn't stop, and started crying harder. _

"_Why won't you stop crying," Jayfeather whispered. "Why?"_

"_That's not how you talk to him."_

_Kits voice startled Jayfeather, and he turned around to see Kit standing there. She was carrying the machine attached to her neck with one hand, and she held out one arm. "Give me him."_

_Jayfeather handed her the screaming baby without another word. Kit cradled Sparks, murmuring things Jayfeather couldn't hear. Sparks's crying eased, until he was sleeping peacefully in Kits arms. Kit looked up at Jayfeather with bloodshot eyes. _

"_That's how you handle a child," she whispered. "You don't yell at him."_

"_I told you I'd be a terrible father," Jayfeathers hands shook with anger. "I TOLD you."_

"_You're not a terrible father," Kit said quietly. "I promise you are not." She held out Sparks, and Jayfeather cautiously took him in his arms. He rocked him back and forth, and tears started to form in his eyes. _

"_Don't cry," he whispered to his son. "Daddy's here, Daddy's got you."_

_..._

"Where the hell do you think you're going, dressed like _that?" _Jayfeather cried. Eli zipped up her sweater even more so he couldn't see the shirt she was wearing.

"Uh, Mere's."

"Oh ya right," Jayfeather scoffed, taking a sip of his wine. Eli noticed he had completely ditched his glass and was drinking it straight out of the bottle.

"We were going to go to Xavier and Millicents party for a bit first," Mere put in.

"And you dyed your hair!" Jayfeather yelled at Eli, completely ignoring Mere. Eli fingered her new blonde hair that Mere had dyed. Jayfeather stared at her, waiting for her to respond. Eli just shrugged.

"Just go, have a good night," Jayfeather said disgustedly, taking another swig from his bottle. "Don't do anything stupid."

"We won't," Eli mumbled, then walked out of the room, Mere following close behind. They pulled on their heels and stepped outside, the cool evening air felt nice against Eli's flushed cheeks. Then a thought hit her.

"Who's giving us a ride?" Eli asked. Mere looked uncomfortable. "Um, Zelia."

"_Zelia?" _

"Well, not Zelia. Her dad is."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Eli cried. "I don't want to hang out with Zelia for the whole evening!"

"She's cool," Mere mumbled. "I still don't get why you don't like her."

"Because she's fucking up Sparks's life."

"Bullshit," Mere snapped, suddenly angry. "If anyone's fucking up Sparks's life, it's Sparks."

"Sorry," Eli muttered, suddenly ashamed of sounding so hateful.

"It's fine, once you drink more I'm sure the two of you will be great friends."

"Right," Eli lied, not wanted to admit that she thought she had already drank too much. "So where are we meeting Zelia?"

"We can walk to her house," Mere motioned with her head for Eli to follow her down the driveway. Eli forced her high heeled feet to follow. They walked in silence, the walk sobered up Eli quite a bit. By the time they got to Zelia's Eli didn't even feel drunk anymore. However, when Eli stepped into Zelia's house, she wished she was still feeling the alcohol. Mere didn't seem fazed, but that was probably because she'd been here before. Eli stared around her with wide eyes.

Zelia's house, was _disgusting. _

Piles of garbage were all over the living room, coating the air with a retched, moldy smell. Dirty laundry covered the couches, and a thin layer of dirt covered literally everything. Cat's were everywhere, lying in the filth. Eli felt terribly sorry for them. But there was no time to say anything about the state of the living room, because Zelia had appeared in the doorway.

"Hey!" she smiled kindly.

"Hi! Are you ready to go?" Mere replied. Eli felt the urge to puke and vaguely wondered how Mere wasn't choking on the disgusting air.

"Yeah, my dad will meet us in the car in a minute," Zelia explained, pulling on her shoes. Eli suddenly felt overdressed. Zelia was wearing a simple jean skirt, a white tee shirt and a pair of dirty sneakers. She wished she had brought a change of clothes.

When they got to the car, Zelia climbed into the front seat, and Eli sat next to Mere in the back. Eli was thankful the car wasn't dirty like the house.

"Did you guys get alcohol?" Zelia asked, turning around to look at the girls.

"I have rum," Mere patted her bag with one hand. "But Eli and I drank some already."

"Huh," Zelia turned her head to look at Eli. "You don't look drunk."

"I'm not," Eli mumbled.

"Oh. Nice hair, by the way," Zelia smiled. Eli smiled back. Maybe Zelia wasn't so bad after all.

"I hear Xaviers party's gonna be a total rage," Mere said excitedly. "His parents are gone so we've got his whole house to party!"

"I know," Zelia shared Mere's enthusiasm. "I can't wait."

"My brother might come by later," Eli put in. This made Zelia's entire face light up. "When?" she asked.

"I don't know, eleven?" Eli guessed. "That's what he said. I don't know what he's doing until then."

"Well, I hope he come," Zelia smiled. Then her face got a funny expression that Eli didn't understand.

"What?" Eli asked.

"Does Sparks ever talk about electricity to you?" Zelia asked the both of them. But her eyes were dead locked with Eli's.

"No..." Eli said, confused. "You see him more than I do, so I don't know."

"Huh," Zelia broke her eye contact with Eli.

"Why?"

"It's just... something sort of weird happened the other day, and I don't really understand it."

"What happened?" Eli and Mere asked at the same time.

Mere looked interested.

Eli looked frightened.

"Well, it's probably nothing," Zelia said with a forced laugh. "But, he shocked me."

"What do you mean, 'shocked you'?" Eli asked.

"He held up this weird machine thing, and made me hold onto a wire. It burned really bad."

Eli didn't know what to say, and was thankful when Zelia's dad opened the car door and got in. She was alarmed to find she was more shocked when she first saw Zelia's father than when she first saw the house. The man turned around, and stared at Eli with his glassy eyes.

"I don't think I've met you before," he said. His voice sounded like chips of ice. He held out one hand, which Eli reluctantly took and shook slightly. "My name is Osl."

"Hello," Eli whispered. Osl's hands were ice cold, and clammy. His teeth were grey, and crooked. His skin was pale, with a sickly yellow tingle to it. He reminded Eli of a stereotypical meth user.

"Aren't you Kit's daughter?" Osl asked. His eyes gleamed when he spoke.

"Yes," Eli replied. "How do you know her?"

"Oh, she was an old apprentice of mine," Osl smiled. "She used to work at the mental institution I used to own."

"Oh," this was news to Eli. She made a mental note to bring it up with Kit when she got home.

"Do you still work at the institution?" Eli asked politely.

"No, someone burned it down," Osl said. Eli would have thought he was kidding if he didn't have this sullen expression on his face. Eli took this as her cue to stop talking.

Osl drove the girls through town until Zelia instructed him to stop.

"Thanks for the ride," Zelia said. Osl just nodded his head slowly. Zelia got out of the car and walked around it to open Mere's door.

"The doors stick," Zelia giggled. "One sec, Eli, I'll come let you out."

Eli waited patiently for Zelia to walk around the car. But in the short few seconds Eli was alone in the car with Osl, he turned around and stared at her.

"Isn't Jayfeather your father?" he asked.

"Yes," Eli replied, trying not to stare at his ugly teeth.

"Ah, that's what I thought," Osl grinned.

"How do you know him?" Eli asked as Zelia opened her door.

"Oh I've known him for years," Osl said, turning his head to stare back out through the windshield. "I used to work with his father."


	7. Halloween Part 3

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 7: Halloween Part 3

_It's a damn cold night_

_Trying to figure out this life_

_Isn't anyone trying to find me _

_Won't somebody come take me home_

"I used to work with his father."

Eli's blood chilled when Osl said those words. She didn't know much about Jayfeathers dad, Crowfeather. But she knew he was a bad man, a terrible person. She knew he had physically abused Jayfeather and Kit, but she didn't know how or why. Crowfeather was dead now, Jayfeather had told her that he had died in a car accident, with him and Kit in the car. That's how Kit hurt her lungs and now had to breathe with a machine.

_But what was Osl doing with Crowfeather? _Eli thought to herself as she got out of the car. _I don't understand. _

Her confused thoughts vanished when she stepped outside. Xaviers house was full of people, some running around outside, screaming like demons.

"Wow," Mere breathed excitedly. "This is going to be great!"

"I can't wait till Sparks arrives!" Zelia said, eyes shining.

Eli didn't say a word.

They walked to the house, Zelia and Mere arm in arm with Eli stumbling along in her heels a few feet behind. Mere used her free hand to ring the doorbell, and a few minutes later a drunk looking boy that Eli recognized as Xavier opened the door.

"Hey!" Xavier slurred happily. He was wearing a lampshade on his head. "I'm glad you could come!"

"Thanks for inviting us!" Mere gushed, batting her eyelashes at him. Xavier didn't notice. "Come inside," he gestured with his hand to the living room. "Zelia, we've been waiting all night for you."

Mere snapped her head to look at Zelia, dropping her arm. Xavier didn't even look at Mere, but his flushed face was all smiles when he looked at Zelia.

"Waiting for me?" Zelia said, trying to smile subtly without Mere noticing. "Why?"

"Don't you have the stuff?" Xavier asked, confused.

"Oh ya. I got it," Zelia pulled out a bag full of different colored pills with smiley faces on them.

"What are those?" Eli murmured to Mere.

"Extacy," Mere mumbled, not meeting her gaze. Eli remembered why she so strongly disliked Zelia at once.

"Let's go," Xavier winked, and led Zelia into the living room where a huge lot of kids were dancing. Eli followed, wishing she had stayed home.

_Meanwhile_

The man walked into the room, wearing a mask. He got no funny looks, as many other kids were wearing masks too. But the man was no child. He walked through the haze of cigarette and pot smoke, pushing past girls in bunny costumes and boys with devil masks.

It was Halloween.

The mans mask was pure white, with black eyes and a demonic smile that stretched all the way to his ears. He wore a dirty flannel shirt, blue and black checkers. He walked over to the group of kids sitting in a circle, waving.

The kids were too drunk and stoned to question who he was.

The girl with red hair was holding up a zip lock bag, handing out pills to the others. He knew who the red haired girl was.

Her name was Zelia, and she was his daughter.

"Hey!" a girl he didn't recognize smiled. "Who are you?"

"Tyler, from school," the man lied.

"Well, Tyler, would you like some drugs?" she smiled. The man noticed everyone's pupils were sickly dilated. However, one girl's eyes were not.

The girl he had given a ride to, the girl named Eli.

Jayfeather and Kits daughter.

"I'll take some drugs," the man smiled. He was not fazed whatsoever that his 15 year old daughter was dealing extacy. He took the pills Zelia handed to him, and popped them into his mouth. They were very dry.

"Here," Eli passed him her drink. "Use this to swallow. I don't want it anyway."

The man took the drink, and pretended to take a sip while spitting the three pills back into the cup. He listened the kids talking amongst each other, subtly sloshing the drink around so the pills would dissolve.

"Take your drink back," the man handed Eli's tainted drink back to her. "I don't like it."

Eli reluctantly took the drink back, taking a sip to be polite. The man sat with the kids until Eli had drank the entire thing.

He smiled feverishly.

...

"Why are we going to an underage party again?" Nicky asked his friend Sparks. Sparks smiled slightly. "I want to see Zelia," he said for the fourth time that evening."

"You really like her, huh?" Nicky replied. Sparks shrugged. Nicky was Sparks best friend, and the only one who knew about his thing for Zelia. Nicky was a year older than Sparks, and the exact opposite. He was shorter, with short blonde hair that stuck up all over his head.

"I hear her house is really weird," Nicky said, trying to keep the conversation going. "Allison told me she went over there for a sleep over when they were kids. She told me there was garbage everywhere, and everything was dirty."

"I know, I've seen it," Sparks muttered, not really wanting to discuss the state of Zelia's home.

"Have you even kissed her yet?" Nicky asked, winking at Sparks.

"For gods sake, Nicky. No I haven't," Sparks snapped. "Now shut up about her. We're here."

They walked up the steps to Millicents and Xavier's home, Sparks didn't even bother knocking, as the door was already wide open. Sparks walked into the house, taking in the scene around him. The house was _trashed. _

Cups and bottles littered the floor, and broken glass covered most of the surfaces. Dirt from peoples shoes smeared across the rug. Sparks wondered where Eli and her friends were. He spotted them in the living room, sitting with several other kids their age in a circle. Sparks spotted his sister slumped against the stereo. He felt a glimmer of unease.

Eli looked really, really messed up.

Her eyes were closed, and her legs were splayed in front of her, as if she were too weak to move. Her hair was slick with sweat, and from where Sparks was standing he could see that she was breathing hard.

"Hey," Sparks said as he walked over to her. Eli opened her eyes into slits, and Sparks nearly jumped back in surprise. Her eyes were redder then the devil, and her pupils were the size of a cats when they were staring in the dark.

"Eli," Sparks whispered, leaning over her. "What's wrong? What did you do?"

"I don't know what happened to her," Zelia said desperately from where she was sitting. "She was fine an hour ago!"

"Did she drink too much?" Sparks asked, getting worried.

"She drank a lot," a very large kid with a flannel shirt and mask said. "Just let her lay for a bit, I'm sure she's just really smashed."

"Okay," Sparks said uneasily. "Eli, are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine," Eli whispered, shutting her eyes again.

Sparks gave Eli a soft pat on her hand before getting up to see what else was going on. He looked around and saw the kid with the flannel shirt walking away.

"Who was that?" Sparks asked Zelia. She just shrugged. "He said his name was Tyler," she said.

"Oh," Sparks dismissed the matter. "Zelia, do you have any pills?"

"I saved the best for you, my dear," Zelia handed him three blue pills. "The blue ones are the nicest."

"Thanks," Sparks took the pills and swallowed them dry.

"Come talk to me," Zelia took Sparks by the hand and let him away from the other kids. Sparks willingly followed, feeling the hit of extacy already. He smiled, and he didn't know why.

...

"Hey."

"Eli, wake up."

Eli opened one eye to see a masked face staring at her.

"Sparks?" Eli mumbled.

"Yeah, it's me, Sparks," the man said.

"You don't sound like Sparks," Eli whispered.

"Come with me," the man grabbed Eli by the arm and she stumbled to her feet. She looked around her, and looked at the man, confused and wasted.

"You're not Sparks," she said, voice garbled.

"No, I'm not," the man hissed. Then he grabbed Eli by the hand and pulled her towards the door.

Eli was so screwed up, all she could do was follow.

...

"Holy shit," Sparks said, rubbing his forehead. "That was some good extacy."

"I know," Zelia laughed. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Not as beautiful as you," the words came out of Sparks mouth before he had a chance to stop them. Zelia's whole face lit up. "Thank you," she whispered.

"No problem," Sparks muttered.

"Sparks, can I tell you something?" Zelia asked, sitting down on a bed. She and Sparks were sitting in Millicents room.

"Okay," Sparks said.

"I'm in love with you."

Sparks's eyes flew open, and he stared at Zelia with wide eyes. "I love you too," he said, as if her were realizing this for the first time. "I love you."

Zelia leaned forward, and kissed Sparks while wrapping her hands around the back of his neck. He kissed her back, and it was the most magical moment of his entire life. Sparks flew, and bells rang. His heart swelled with love, replacing the ice that had always layered around his heart. He felt so alive, so real. He completely forgot he was stoned.

And then the door burst open.

"What the fuck!" Zelia screamed. Sparks turned his head to see who had walked in. It was Eli's best friend, Mere. She looked so stricken it made alarm shoot through Sparks's body.

"What?" Zelia snapped.

"You need to come with me right now," Mere said, frightened. "Eli's missing."


	8. Eli's Last Rejoice

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 8: Eli's Last Rejoice

_There's a demon inside of me _

_Can I kill it?_

_Hell no!_

_Can I kill it?_

_Hell no!_

My name is Jayfeather, and I was 13 when I met the devil. He wasn't wearing red, he didn't have a pointed tail. The devil wore a dark dress shirt, and scuffed jeans. He had my eyes. He had my nose.

The devil, was my father.

He lived in hell, and he dragged me there with him. He did horrible things to me, and my brother. My brother no longer lives thanks to him. My brother Lionblaze was killed at the age of four, in the mercy of the devil that called himself dad. Crowfeather was sick, of course. His brain thought differently than normal. But that was no excuse for what he did to me, or Kit. I never knew anything but hatred for Crowfeather, just as he felt nothing but hate for me. He never knew my favorite color. He never knew my friends. He was a monster, and I am a monsters son. Not many people know a lot about me and my life. But the one thing that others often overlook is how much a father, can love his child.

My heart stopped beating when Sparks called me, telling me Eli's missing.

My blood ran cold, my body went numb.

My baby girl, is missing.

And I don't have the slightest clue where she is.

...

Eli woke up groggily, eyes blinking open to adjust to the darkness. She didn't know where she was, or why she was lying on a cold concrete floor. Her spine ached from it, and her whole body felt cold and clammy. Shivering, Eli say up, alarm starting to run through her body. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and she could make out shapes in the room.

There was no windows.

A huge metal door sat across from her, with various bolts and chains locking it shut. There were chains sticking out of the floor, attached to a deadbolt. But what Eli noticed the most was the _smell. _It was worse than Zelia's house. The smell of death hung in the air like smoke, and Eli had to force herself not to gag on it.

_Where am I? _Eli thought desperately. _I want to go home. _

And then light shone across her face.

The door had opened.

Eli stared at the man who walked towards her, recognizing with relief that he was Zelia's father, Osl.

"Where are we?" Eli cried. "I'm cold and hungry! I want to go home!"

"You're not going home," Osl hissed. Eli didn't understand.

"What do you mean?" Eli asked. "I don't know where I am, and I want to go-"

"This is your home now," Osl smiled. He walked towards her, and to Eli's discomfort he wrapped his dirty hands around her neck. His rancid breath stung her nose, and Eli realized with a jolt that something was terribly wrong. He left his hands there for several seconds, and Eli was just starting to wonder if he was going to kiss her when she heard a snap.

Confused, she realized he had clasped something around her neck.

"What are you doing?" Eli whispered. "Stop it."

Osl smiled and shook his head. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"You're Zelia's father."

"Yes, I am. And I know who you are," Osl said quietly.

"Huh?"

"I used to work with Crowfeather."

"I know, you told me that," Eli said as she tried to take off the thing around her neck.

"Don't you want to know what we did?" Osl asked, grabbing Eli's hands to prevent her from removing it.

"What did you do?" Eli mumbled, trying to rip her hands free. Osl didn't let go.

"We burned the devils children," Osl whispered.

"What?!"

"Don't worry," Osl said as he pulled out a remote with wires sticking out of it. "It stops to hurt after a while."

In the two seconds it took for Osl to push the button, Eli realized she was wearing a collar.

An electric shock collar.

And then he pushed the button, and Eli screamed at the top of her lungs.

It felt like sparks were coursing through her veins.

...

"Have you seen my daughter?" Jayfeather cried desperately holding up a picture of Eli. He was standing on main street, asking everyone who passed if they had seen her. No one stopped, as the world was cruel. Jayfeather spotted a man holding a donut walking towards him.

"Have you seen her?" Jayfeather held up the picture.

"Fuck off," the man snapped, not even making eye contact. Jayfeather was too ridden with guilt and worry that he didn't even scream something sarcastic back.

"Hey, dad."

Jayfeather turned to see Sparks, Zelia and Mere.

"Why aren't you searching?" Jayfeather exploded.

"We just walked up and down the whole street," Sparks muttered. Jayfeather couldn't meet his sons dilated eyes. "Go search again," Jayfeather ordered. "We are going to find her."

"It's four in the morning," Zelia said. "Can't we search tomorrow?"

"We need to find her," Jayfeather whispered, tears forming in his eyes. "What if someone's hurting her?"

"I feel like I'm going to fall over," Sparks complained. Jayfeather whipped his head around to stare at him. "Well maybe you should stop doing drugs!" he screamed. "Your sister is _missing, _Sparks! Find some goddamn energy!"

"My dad is going to be so mad," Zelia whispered. "I promised I'd be home hours ago."

Jayfeather took a moment to register this. "I'd like to speak with your dad," he said. Zelia's eyes flew open. "My dad? Why?"

"He gave you a ride to the party. I want to discuss what happened with him, maybe he could help."

"My dad doesn't like visitors," Zelia said cautiously. "And if I wake him up to talk to you he'd probably hit me."

Jayfeather couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not, but there was no time to ponder it.

"We're going to see your dad," Jayfeather decided. "Now."

"Fine," Zelia mumbled. Jayfeather led the way back to his van, and the kids piled in the back. They drove in silence, other than Zelia quietly giving directions. When they were almost at Zelia's driveway, Jayfeather turned around to look at Zelia.

"What's your dads name?" he asked.

"Osl Jamire."

Jayfeather nearly swerved the vehicle into the ditch.

"What the hell!" Mere screamed.

"I don't think I heard you right," Jayfeather said, poking his ears. "Did you say your dad's name is _Osl?" _

"Uh, yeah," Zelia mumbled, confused. Jayfeather slammed the car into park and kicked open the door.

"What's your dad doing?" Mere desperately asked Sparks. Sparks shrugged, eyes wide with alarm. Zelia flew out the door behind Jayfeather, screaming as she went.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Zelia shrieked, as Jayfeather charged to her front door. Jayfeather ignored her, and banged on the door with his fists.

"WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?" Jayfeather screamed. "OPEN THE DOOR YOUR FILTHY BASTARD!"

"Stop! Stop!" Zelia begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why are you doing this!"

"OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR!" Jayfeather yelled. "OR I'LL BREAKING IT DOWN MYSELF!"

The door flew open, and a very disgruntled looking Osl stared out at them.

"What the fuck!" Osl screamed when he saw Zelia. It took a minute for him to register Jayfeather. "Oh, it's you," a smile stretched across Osl's face. "I had a feeling I'd be seeing you soon."

Jayfeather didn't say a word, just lunged forward and grabbed Osl by the neck. Zelia screamed, begging desperately for Jayfeather to stop.

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" Jayfeather screamed as he choked Osl. Osl gasped for breath, but he didn't speak. Jayfeather banged him against the wall, and his head sickly thumped against the bricks.

Then Jayfeather screamed.

Zelia had clamped her teeth in his leg and was biting, _hard. _Jayfeather let go of Osl and tried to kick Zelia away. His foot met with her mouth, and she fell backwards, bleeding.

"Get away from my dad!" Zelia screamed. Her open mouth was dark red from the blood poring from her split lip.

Jayfeather didn't reply, he just raced through the front door into Zelia's revolting house.

"Eli!" he called. "Where are you?" he ran through the rooms, down the stairs. A bolted door behind a shelf caught his attention. He shoved the shelf out of the way, and it fell to the floor with a bang. Jayfeather desperately shoved open the door's metal lock, and pushed inside.

The room was filthy.

The room reeked of death.

But that's not what Jayfeather noticed.

Slumped in the corner, electric collar around her neck, lay Eli's broken body.

Jayfeathers heart exploded and he screamed. He ran to his daughters side, and only one question ran through his shattered thoughts.

Was Eli still alive?

When Jayfeather touched her ice cold wrist, Jayfeather got his answer.

He screamed until the cops took him away.


	9. Trial

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 9: Trial

_When you came around me_

_I still felt all alone_

_And when you smiled at me_

_My face it turned to stone_

_When I try to walk around_

_My feet feel full of lead_

_And when I fall asleep at night_

_I wish for silent death_

For two things I was completely sure of. One, I murdered Osl. But he deserved that so I try not to dwell on it too much. Two, I will never be happy again. But that was kind of expected, considering how things have been going lately. Today is the day I go to court, and I am so nervous I can barely speak. My lawyer says my case was flimsy, and when I told him Osl's death wasn't an accident he nearly walked right off the job. Now he sits in my living room, giving me advice on what to say. I can barely hear him, but that's no surprise.

I'm so numb I don't even care anymore.

"So do you understand?" Jayfeathers lawyer, a man named Brambleclaw repeated. Jayfeather was so lost in thought he didn't hear him.

"Jayfeather!" Brambleclaw snapped. Jayfeather jumped up in surprise. "What?" he asked blankly. "I missed that."

"You need to pay attention," Brambleclaw replied, adjusting his glasses. "You're trial is in half an hour and everything I've said is going right over your head."

"Sorry," Jayfeather mumbled. "I just have stuff on my mind."

Brambleclaws stern gaze turned sympathetic. "I know you're sad about Eli," he said quietly, reaching his hand out and resting it on Jayfeathers arm. "I know what you must feel has to be unbearable. But we have to get through this or you could very likely end up in jail."

"She's dead," Jayfeather muttered, tears forming in his eyes. They dropped down his cheek and stained his dark blue suit. "And the bastard who killed her deserved to die."

"I agree," Brambleclaw whispered. Jayfeather looked up in surprise.

"I was your lawyer when you were in trial for Crowfeathers death," Brambleclaw said. "And now I'm your lawyer again. And I just want to say that both Crowfeather and Osl's death were completely justified."

"Osl's daughter watched me as I strangled her father to death," Jayfeather mumbled. "She's obviously not going to help my case."

"Zelia is very confused," Brambleclaw said quietly. "She may respond more helpfully than you think."

_Later_

"Will Zelia please come to the stand," the judge ordered. Jayfeather looked to the other side of the room, where Zelia stood. She was wearing a long blue dress, and her long red hair was tied into a bun. Her expression was confusing, Jayfeather couldn't read what she was thinking. With slow steps Zelia slowly made her way to the front of the courtroom.

"Zelia, I have a few questions for you. It is essential you answer honestly," the judge directed.

"Okay," Zelia said simply. Her eyes met Jayfeathers, and Jayfeathers heart thumped nervously when her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Did Jayfeather kill Osl? Answer yes or no."

There was a long pause.

"Yes," Zelia said. The room or jurors and other people watching tittered. Jayfeather looked at Brambleclaw, who just gave him a stern look. Jayfeather turned his eyes back on Zelia.

"Did you know Osl was torturing Eli? Answer yes or no," the judge ordered.

"No," Zelia whispered.

The judges next question surprised Jayfeather.

"Did you know about Osl's past with Jayfeather?" the judge said. Even Zelia looked confused.

"No," she answered.

"Do you believe Jayfeather killed Osl in an act of defense?"

Again, Zelia took a long time to respond. Jayfeather held his breath as he waited.

"No," Zelia said at last.

"Fuck," Jayfeather muttered under his breath.

"Did you or did you not watch Jayfeather strangle Osl with his bare hands?" the judge demanded. By this time the whole crowd of people were openly talking. Jayfeather shrunk down in his seat as he heard disturbing names being thrown at him.

"Quiet in the court!" the judge banged his gavel loudly, and the crowd quickly died down. The judge took a look over his paperwork before he continued.

"Zelia, please sit down," the judge said as he looked over at Jayfeather. "Thank you."

Zelia hurried to her seat, eyes dead locked with the wood paneled floor.

"Jayfeather, please come up to the stand."

Jayfeather stood up on his shaking legs and forced himself over to the seat in the front of the room. He sat down and waited for the judge to continue.

"Jayfeather, please respond with yes or no."

"Okay," Jayfeather replied.

"YES OR NO," the judge ordered.

"Yes," Jayfeather tried not to roll his eyes.

"Jayfeather, is Crowfeather your father?" the judge asked. Jayfeather was taken so off guard by the question he nearly forgot to respond.

"Yes," he said at last.

"When you lived with Crowfeather, was he electrocuting you?" the judge asked. The crowd was now confused, they looked amongst each other with wide eyes.

"Yes," Jayfeather whispered. He could see his son Sparks sitting in the front row, in a suit and tie. When the question was asked about electricity, Sparks eyes flew open in surprise. Jayfeather made a mental note to have a discussion about Crowfeather and his torture with Sparks later.

"Did you kill Osl in your rage when you found your daughter dead?" the judge pressed on with the questions.

"Yes," Jayfeather mumbled, wondering how many years he was going to be in jail.

"Do you admit to the murder of Osl?" the judge asked.

"Yes," Jayfeather said.

"Then we are done here," the judge motioned for the security to come forward. "Jayfeather, by order of the court I hereby declare you guilty under the order of law."

_Meanwhile_

She heard a thump over her head, and darkness shadowed her eyes. The soft tickle of fabric dusted the tip of her nose. Her neck ached, as though a zillion knives were shoved down her throat. Then the shadow disappeared, and her eyelids burned orange.

Then there was a voice.

The voice of a child.

"_Hello,"_ it whispered. _"Can you open your eyes?"_

She opened one eye, and it burned in the light. A boy of about 13 sat on the edge of her bed, wearing a soft green sweater. He had bright red hair, but that's not what she noticed first. The boy was transparent, as if he were a ghost.

"Am I in heaven?" she croaked, not recognizing her own voice.

"_Not yet," _the boy replied.

"Who are you?" she whispered. "Who am I?"

"_My name is Flametail," _Flametail said. _And you are Eli." _


	10. Buried Alive

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 10: Buried Alive

_I, was, once a wild_

_Psycho _

_Greedy _

_Bitchy _

_Child_

_I, am, now confused_

_What the fuck did I just do?_

_My, mind, lost it all_

_Who am I, who are you all?_

"Where am I?" Eli asked, looking around her. The room was dark, but not so dark that she couldn't see. Flametail looked at her, face expressionless.

"_You know that part of the hospital where they store the dead bodies for burial?" _Flametail said hesitantly. Eli shrugged her shoulders. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, annoyed.

"_Well, that's where you are."_

"What the fuck," Eli snapped. She was getting tired of this. She couldn't remember anything, no even who she was. Flametail had called her Eli, so she figured that's what her name must be.

"I'm not dead," Eli said when Flametail didn't say anything.

"_Maybe not," _Flametail whispered. _"But everyone thinks you are."_

"Why?" Eli asked. "What happened?"

"_Your brain turned off when Osl was electrocuting you," _Flametail explained.

"_Electrocuting me?" _Eli shrieked.

"_Yes," _Flametail nodded his head.

"What the hell," Eli whispered.

"_Your burial is in an hour," _Flametail continued. _"I think we need to get you out of here."_

"How are we going to do that?"

"_There's only one way to do this," _Flametail sighed. _"And it's gonna be difficult."_

...

Sparks passed Zelia the pipe, blowing out the chemical smoke with his nose wrinkled sourly.

"Where did you get this?" Sparks asked, feeling the effects of the meth already beginning to burn through his veins.

"Found it under my dads bed," Zelia muttered as she took a large toke. Sparks just nodded. He knew sitting here smoking crystal meth with his 15 year old girlfriend was wrong. But he needed something to _feel, _ever since Eli died Sparks had found himself terribly numb.

"That's it," Zelia said, putting he pipe away. "I'll try to find more later."

"How often do you do meth?" Sparks asked. Usually they just smoked weed.

"Here and there," Zelia replied. "It keeps me sane, y'know?"

"Yeah I know," Sparks mumbled. Everything seemed very slowed down, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

"Are you ready for your sisters funeral?" Zelia asked quietly. Sparks shrugged, looking down.

"We should probably get ready to go," Zelia prompted. "I saw Jayfeather sitting in his suit an hour ago."

"He's been sitting in that goddamn suit all day," Sparks hissed. "Staring at the ground, whispering things."

"He's grieving."

"Well, it's annoying and it makes me sad," Sparks snapped. "But yeah, I suppose we should go." he stood up and opened the door to his house. When they walked into the living room, Sparks was not surprised to find Jayfeather sitting on the couch in his suit, staring into the wall.

"Dad, are you ready to go?" Sparks asked. He noticed he was slurring his words and made a mental note to stop.

"You smell like speed," Jayfeather said numbly, not looking away from the wall. Zelia's eyes flew open in panic but Sparks remained nonchalant. "Dad, let's go," he repeated.

"Okay," Jayfeather slowly got up and walked away, not making eye contact with Sparks. Sparks and Zelia followed, not saying a word.

_Later_

Eli lay motionless as her body was lowered into a casket. Flametail squeezed in too, but the only way he could fit was if he laid directly on top of her. Eli heard the casket close, and felt herself being lifted up. She blinked open her eyes, and nearly screamed.

Flametail was two inches above her face.

"Stop that!" Eli whispered as Flametail continued to stare.

"_Sorry," _Flametail smiled. Eli's face turned red. "Stop that," she growled. "And explain to me how I'm getting out of here."

"_I'm going to talk to Jayfeather," _Flametail explained. _"I'll get him to tell everyone to leave. Then once everyone is gone, you can get out."_

Eli was having a hard time concentrating, as Flametails breath was tickling her nose.

"_Do you understand?" _Flametail asked. Eli realized she had zoned out looking into his eyes.

"Oh, uh, yeah," she stammered. "I hope it works."

"_I hope so too."_

"Um, Flametail?"

"_Hm?"_

"Who's Jayfeather?"

Flametail looked at her with wide sad eyes for several seconds before replying. _"Jayfeather is your father," _he said quietly.

"Oh," was all Eli could say.

"_I can hear the funeral starting," _Flametail whispered. Then he slowly rose and disintegrated through the roof of the coffin. It took Eli a moment to process the fact that Flametail didn't necessarily have to lay on top of her the entire time.

She waited for what felt like hours, listening to the voices around the coffin. Her ears pricked up when she heard a sorrow filled voice. She guessed he was making a speech, so she braced herself for a long boring twenty minutes. In the mans first sentence, Eli realized he must be her dad.

Tears rose in her eyes as he spoke.

...

Jayfeather took a deep breath and looked at the audience waiting for his speech about Eli. He held up his speech cards and took a long shaking breath.

"Eli, was my daughter," Jayfeather began. "And if she were here, she would not want to be remembered for her death, but celebrated for her life," he felt tears rising in his eyes and made no attempt to hide them. "Eli was a strong, beautiful girl. Her life was taken away by a monster, a demon. I remember when Eli was young... she was the cutest little girl. I remember once when she was about five. She had just had a birthday party, and she got to wear a blue party hat. She didn't take off that hat for a week," Jayfeathers voice broke mid sentence. His hands shook violently, and tears were streaming down his cheeks. "I remember sitting with Eli on her bed, clipping her little fingernails because she always clipped them too far when she did them herself. I remember thinking what a precious girl she was, born into this cruel, disgusting world. I vowed to protect her from harm, and to keep her safe. But it's impossible to keep someone safe in a world like this. I didn't want to let her leave, I wanted to hold her in my arms forever," Jayfeather realized he was sobbing, but he pressed on. "She grew up too fast, she wanted to live her life. So I tried to let her. But I knew that the minute I let her go, she would endear problems, as everyone does. I didn't want my little princess to grow up. But she did, so I did what every other father does," Jayfeather paused to wipe his tear stained cheeks. "I let her go. One horrible man took away the life of my daughter, my princess. But she will always be remembered. And I know I wasn't the greatest father," Jayfeathers eyes were so full of tears he couldn't read his note cards. He threw his note cards on the ground and continued from heart. "I knew I would never be the worlds greatest dad. Hell, I was far from it. But she knew I did the best I could. I know she loved me, and I tried to show and prove to her every day, that I loved her too. I loved her with all my heart, and I will until the day I die. I love you, Eli. You will always be my little girl."

_Meanwhile_

Eli was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. She remembered everything now. She remembered Jayfeather. She remembered herself. And she remembered what happened to her. Eli wanted to scream, to kick open the coffin and jump into her fathers arms.

_Wait, why can't I? _Eli thought. _Screw Flametails plan. I'm getting out of here._

Eli kicked the top of the coffin, but it didn't move. She kicked again.

With a terrible realization, Eli realized the coffin was locked. She beard sorrowful bells ring, and with a jolt, the coffin was raised from the ground. Hyper mania panic shot through Eli as she found herself lowering, presumably into her grave.

"WAIT!" Eli screamed. "WAIT WAIT WAIT!"

The coffin continued lowering until it hit solid ground. Eli kicked and screamed, but no one opened the lid.

"GODDAMN FLAMETAIL WHERE ARE YOU!" Eli screamed. "HELP ME!"

Flametails ghastly head poked through the roof of the box. _"Jayfeathers gone," _he whisper shrieked.

"GET SOMEONE ELSE!" Eli could hear dirt pounding on the roof of the coffin.

They were going to bury her alive.

"_I CAN'T GET ANYONE ELSE," _Flametail screamed. _"Jayfeathers the only one except you who can see me!" _


	11. Skelita

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

_Hi everyone! I'm just letting everyone know that I now have my own Facebook page, called Malicent. Here's the link, like it up ;) _

pages/Malicent/317866321646694

Chapter 11: Skelita

_Burning, itching through my bones_

_In a crowd I'm all alone_

_Senses heightened, souls contrast _

_Lightning sears and volts my past_

_Sparks enlightened, eyes on fire_

_Corrupting ice through my desires_

_Thunder hit, loud yet quiet_

_Shook through me, ever so silent_

Flametail raced through the crowd, growing more desperate by the second. Eli didn't have much time left, and Jayfeather was nowhere to be found. He looked at all the grieving faces, sadness growing in their eyes for someone who wasn't even dead. _Where the fuck did Jayfeather go, _Flametail thought to himself. _He couldn't have just disappeared! _

And then he finally saw him.

Jayfeather stood by the pitiful concession booth at the back of the gathering of people. His eyes were closed, and he was whispering something Flametail couldn't hear. His plate in his hand remained untouched, the cake flopping to one side from the lack of use.

"_Jayfeather!" _Flametail screamed. Jayfeather opened an eye, turning his head slightly in Jayfeather direction. Flametail pushed through the black clad crowd and raced towards him.

"_Jayfeather!" _Flametail cried again as he got closer. This time Jayfeather raised his head completely and looked around. When he spotted Flametail he dropped his cake in shock. The chocolate icing smeared over his shoes but he didn't even notice.

"Flametail?" he whispered, his dull eyes brightening for the slightest of seconds. "I haven't seen you in forever."

"_Eli's alive," _Flametail whisper/shrieked. _"You need to get her out of the coffin, now!"_

"What?" Jayfeather screamed. He threw his plate on the ground and ran through Flametail towards the coffin. Flametail turned around and raced after him, heart hammering in his chest. Jayfeather pushed through the confused people, who stared after him with unsure faces.

"Poor Jayfeather," Flametail heard one of them say. "He's gone mad with grief."

"STOP BURYING HER," Jayfeather screamed at the four people who were in the process of shoveling dirt over Eli's grave.

"Look man, we're on a schedule," one of the grave diggers growled. "We're already running late as it is and we don't have time for this."

"Move, now," Jayfeather hissed. "Or the next grave you'll be digging will be your own."

"Okay, easy," the man stopped shoveling and stepped back. "I guess we can be a few minutes late."

Jayfeather ignored him and jumped into the hole where Eli's coffin lay.

"Jayfeather," a choked voice sounded from behind him. It was Kit.

"One minute," Jayfeather said, using his hands to scrape dirt away.

"Jayfeather, she's dead!" Kit screamed. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"SHE'S NOT DEAD," Jayfeather screamed back. "FLAMETAIL TOLD ME SHE'S STILL ALIVE!"

"You've gone mad," Kit whispered. "Jayfeather if you don't get away from our daughters grave this instant I am going to take Sparks and you will never see us again."

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOU RIGHT NOW," Jayfeather yelled. He continued digging furiously, dirt flying up into the air and falling back into his already filthy hair.

"Jayfeather, stop," Kit choked. "Please!"

Jayfeather ignored her, and continued digging as fast as he could go. Finally he hid the solid roof of the coffin, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed the latch to the door and pulled, hard.

The lid to the coffin rose.

The crowd let out a gasp.

Jayfeather just stared.

**Six months later**

Sparks pulled on his coat, not looking forward to the cold outdoors he was about to walk out into. It was the dead of winter, and it was a cruel one. Every time Sparks walked outside wind cut through his skin and chilled his bones. Sparks yanked on his hat and took a deep breath. It was time to face the music. He pulled open the door, resulting in an icy wind to blow into his face. Sparks cursed under his breath and proceeded to trudge through the knee deep snow.

"Hey," a voice sounded from beside him. Sparks turned around to see Zelia standing there, bundled up in a large coat and mittens. Sparks sighed in annoyance when he realized Zelia wasn't wearing socks with her shoes.

"Where are your socks," Sparks asked, his breath billowing out in front of him like smoke.

"I lost them," Zelia explained, looking down at her frozen feet.

"Well we'll go buy you some later," Sparks said. "Having no socks in this weather is not acceptable."

"Thanks," Zelia brightened at this. Then she looked down at the two coffees in her hands and held one out to Sparks. "I bought this for you."

"Thank you," Sparks said in surprise, the kind gesture almost made his heart warm. He looked at Zelia for a second before holding out his hand to her. "I missed you," he said quietly. Zelia took his hand and looked him dead in the eye. "I missed you too," she smiled. "Every second of every day."

For the past six months Zelia had been in a counseling home, trying to work out her issues. Ever since her dad died and Zelia had figured out her dad had been torturing her friend Eli, Zelia had lost sense of reality. Six long months of treatment had done a fine job, and Zelia was happy to think she stood on solid ground.

"Are you ready to go?" Zelia asked, breaking Sparks out of his thoughts. He let go of her hand and shoved them into his coat pockets. "Yeah," he said. "We should probably go soon."

They walked in silence down the road, shivering in the icy winds.

...

Kaeleigh sighed as an announcement pulsed through her room.

"Will all level 1 patients please report to the counseling hall?"

Kaeleigh lay on her bed for a second, not wanting to go to her group counseling meeting. It was so _boring, _all everyone ever did was blab on and on about their pathetic screwed up lives. Kaeleigh lived in the Driftwood Lake's Recovery Home. Also known as the Driftwood Lake mental hospital for the disturbed. She was a level one patient, so she didn't have a lot of rights. There were levels one through six in the home, and Kaeleigh had been stuck on one for so many months she had forgotten how many. Kaeleigh rolled her eyes as she pulled herself off the bed, wishing it could just be nighttime so she could go to sleep. She walked down the hall, feeling wobbly on her stick thin legs. Yawning, Kaeleigh scratched her side, feeling her sharp hipbone with a feverish smile. Kaeleigh was a very tall girl, with long black hair and ghastly white skin. She weighed only 95 pounds.

_They call me anorexic, ha! _Kaeleigh thought to herself. _Who do they think they're fooling? I'm so fat... _Kaeleigh wished she were thinner. She raised a sickly thin arm to brush her hair out of her eyes. She walked to the counseling hall in silence, and when she opened the door to the room she scowled at the people inside. Ruby sat cross legged in a chair, rocking back and forth slowly. Ruby was a 12 year old girl with schizophrenia. She constantly shot her head up and talked to things that weren't there. Next to Ruby sat the only other anorexic girl in the building. Kaeleigh didn't know her name, everyone just called her Skelita Skelita was even skinnier than Kaeleigh. Her face was gaunt and her cheekbones stood rigid against her skin. The gap between her legs was so big it made Kaeleigh sick with jealousy. The sound of the counselor clearing her throat made Kaeleigh stop thinking so hard.

"So who would like to share a story first?" she asked. Her voice was gentle and encouraging. "Kaeleigh, would you like to say something?"

"No," Kaeleigh replied. The counselor just smiled and turned to the next person. "What about you, Dana?"

Dana was a 16 year old girl who cut herself. She wore a long sleeved black hoodie to hide her scars, but it made no difference. Kaeleigh had seen her without her hoodie, and her arms nearly made her throw up.

"I had the urge to cut again last night," Dana mumbled. "The feeling just raced through my veins and through my bones. I wanted to so bad," she continued. "But I didn't."

The crowd clapped slightly. Jen, the counselor, smiled widely. "That's a great story, Dana," she said kindly. "I'm proud of you. Maybe in a few weeks we can talk about you grading up to level 4."

Kaeleigh thought of her own level one status again and tried not to groan. She was a long way away from level 6, or 'graduating' as the counselors liked to call it. Once you rank up to level 6, you get to leave and go back home. It was every patients goal. Kaeleigh was no where near it.

"Would anyone else like to speak?" Jen asked the circle.

"How about Skelita," a girl named Kimberly sneered. Jen shot her a warning look. All eyes dead locked at Skelita, who shifted her feet nervously. Kaeleigh felt bad for the girl. Skelita ran her fingers through her dirty blonde hair and shifted her eyes to the floor.

"I threw away my dinner last night," Skelita murmured truthfully. "But I tried to eat it. Honest!"

"Thank you for sharing," Jen smiled sweetly.

"And my name's not Skelita," Skelita said, eyes wide and hurt as she spoke to Kimberly. "My name is Eli."


	12. Freaks

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 12: Freaks

_You drive me crazy_

_I just can't sleep_

_I'm so excited, _

_I'm in too deep_

_You drive me crazy_

_But it feel's alright! _

_Gotta keep me going, now I'm up all night_

"Hello," Sparks spoke to the girl running the front desk. "I'm here to visit my sister."

"Names," the lady barked. Sparks rolled his eyes. "My name is Sparks," he snapped. "And this is Zelia." Zelia raised a hand a waved.

"We're here three times a week," Sparks explained, annoyed. "You should know our names by now."

"I know. I just don't care," the lady said simply. "You can't go in, anyway. Visiting hours are tomorrow only."

"I just wanted to give her this," Sparks held up a bag of food from Eli's favorite restaurant, Catianas. The lady gave the bag a look with narrowed eyes, then she looked back up at Sparks.

"Is your sister the one with an eating disorder?" she asked. Sparks nodded sadly.

"Do you think she'd eat that?" the lady asked.

"Probably not, but it's worth a try."

"You can see her for twenty minutes," the lady decided at last. "But not a minute longer."

"Thanks," Sparks said, and then led Zelia down the hall of the mental home. They passed a very skinny girl that Sparks had met once, her name was Kaeleigh.

"Hey Sparks," Kaeleigh whispered. "Looking for Eli?"

"Yeah, is she in her room?" Sparks replied.

"She's in the eating hall," Kaeleigh replied, her sickly thin legs shaking slightly from the effort of standing.

"Okay, see you later," Sparks walked past her and continued down the hall. He and Zelia had been her plenty of times before, as they visited the mental home quite a few times a week. They walked hand in hand to the eating hall, and Sparks spotted his sister at once. She was sitting alone at the end of a table, a plate of untouched spaghetti sitting in front of her.

"Hey," Sparks said as he approached her. Eli's dirty blonde hair was a mess and her eyes were dull, and when she looked at Sparks they didn't brighten even in the slightest. Her gaunt bony face looked sickly, and Sparks felt so bad for her it hurt.

"Hello," Eli whispered. She could smell the food in the bag Sparks was holding and turned her nose away, disgusted. "Get that away from me," she hissed. "It smells revolting."

"It's you're favorite lasagna from Catianas," Sparks handed the bag to her. Eli shoved it away. "You bring me that every time you see me," Eli growled. "When will you learn that I don't like it? I hate it."

"You used to love this lasagna," Sparks choked, remembering the days when he went to Catianas with Eli and his family.

"Well, I hate it now," Eli said, not meeting his eyes. Sparks set the food on the table and sat down next to her. Zelia walked around the other side of the table and sat across from them.

"I want to go home," Eli whispered. She raised her arm to wipe a tear that had fallen out of her eyes. Sparks tried not to look at the sickly bony way her arm resembled a skeleton. It had turn so pale from the lack of nourishment she looked like a ghost.

"I got demoted back to level one," Eli grumbled. "They caught me throwing out my dinner last night."

"Eli," Sparks said disappointedly. "You would rank up quite a bit if you simply _ate something."_

"You don't understand," Eli snapped. "I just physically can't do it. My brain shut off my goddamn need for food. I never feel hungry."

"You have to eat, you're slowly killing yourself," Sparks said. He shoved the lasagna towards her. "Eat."

"How's dad?" Eli asked coldly, shoving the food away once again.

"He gets weirder every day," Sparks said truthfully. "I caught him talking to Flametail or whatever the shit his name is again."

"Flametails real," Eli snapped. This was news to Sparks. "What?"

"Flametails real," Eli repeated, her thin lips twisting into a scowl. "I've seen him."

"You're crazy, Skelita," a girl who had been eavesdropping snapped as she walked by.

"Fuck you, Ruby," Eli screamed back. She picked up a handful of spaghetti and whipped it at the back of Rubys head. Ruby turned around and glared at Eli. "Fucking crazy bitch," she sneered. "I may see shit that's not real, but at least I'm not a ugly, skeleton, ghastly, emo BITCH!" Ruby screamed and then ran away. Eli flipped her the finger and glared demonically. Sparks felt horrible for Eli, she was so damaged now it was hard to be around her. Ever since she had been tortured by Osl she had been like this. Sparks wondered if she would ever be back to the way she used to be again.

...

Eli watched her brother Sparks and Zelia walk away, feeling hatred for absolutely no reason. She looked at the bag of food Sparks had brought for her. It smelled positively disgusting. Then something crossed her mind, and Eli desperately crossed her mind. She tried at once to remove it from her thoughts, but it was too late.

"_What are you going to get?" Kit asked, looking down at her menu. Jayfeather reviewed it slowly, taking his time. _

"_Dad, just order the hamburger," Sparks said from his chair. "That's what you always get."_

"_True," Jayfeather smiled. "There's no point in changing the traditions now."_

"_I'm getting the lasagna," Eli said excitedly. "It's so good, Sparks, you should get it!"_

"_I'm getting the soup," Sparks replied, shutting his menu and placing it on the table. "I'm not very hungry."_

"_So Eli, are you having a good birthday?" Jayfeather asked, taking a sip of his root beer. "You don't turn 14 every day!" _

"_It's the best birthday in the world," Eli smiled, happiness running though her like static. "Thank you so much for making this day so wonderful," Eli smiled. "I have the best family in the entire world!"_

By the end of the memory, Eli was crying so hard it was hard to breathe. She wiped away her arms, and her hands shook with effort. Looking at the bag of food, Eli reached out a hand cautiously. She slowly removed the take out lasagna and smelled it. It smelled so disgusting if made her want to retch. Yet Eli opened the container, grabbed the plastic fork, and dug it into the warm food. She opened her mouth and placed the food in with shaking hands. It tasted like death yet it made her taste buds burst with hunger. Eli chewed slowly, trying not to throw up. She forced herself to swallow, then used her fork to take another bite.

_Meanwhile_

"Oh my god," Kaeleigh whispered, elbowing Dana hard with her bony elbow. Dana stopped chewing her food to look up. "What?" she said with her mouth full.

"Skelita's _eating," _Kaeleigh said, feeling utterly shocked. She looked on at Skelita slowly chewing a takeout lasagna, looking sick to her stomach.

"I can't believe it," Dana said, equally shocked. "I really can't believe it."

"Do you want to eat?" Dana asked after a moments hesitation. "I can share."

"God no," Kaeleigh snapped. "I'm trying to lose a few pounds. I'm way too fat."

"If you're fat, then I must be scary obese," Dana growled. "I weigh 50 pounds more than you."

"Oh my god, no," Kaeleigh sighed. "_I'm _scary obese. You're skinny and beautiful."

"Whatever," Dana sighed, finishing her spaghetti. "You know you'd feel better if you ate."

"No, I'd feel guilty and fat," Kaeleigh hissed. "End of discussion," she picked up her untouched food and dumped it in the trash.

"Hey," a new voice entered their conversation. Kaeleigh looked behind her to see Ruby standing there.

"You have pasta in your hair," Dana pointed out, trying to be helpful.

"No fucking shit," Ruby hissed. "Did you notice Skelita is eating?"

"Yeah, we were just talking about that," Kaeleigh replied. "I wonder what's up with it."

"Well, her brother came in before and tried to get her to eat," Ruby shrugged. "Maybe she's just trying to make him happy."

"What's her brothers name?" Kaeleigh asked, trying to be nonchalant. She took a sip of her water to look casual.

"Sparks, isn't it?" Dana said. "Yeah, I think his name is Sparks."

"Why, Kaeleigh?" Ruby grinned evilly. "Think he's cute?"

"I dunno," Kaeleigh mumbled, chugging down more water. "Maybe a bit."

"Fuck cute," Ruby rolled her eyes. "He's hotter then hell."

"Agreed," Dana giggled. "He's got a face like an angel."

"He has a girlfriend," Kaeleigh pointed out. "Didn't you see that girl he was with?"

"Oh yeah," Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Zelia."

"Zelia?" Dana said, confused.

"Zelia," Ruby repeated. "I used to know her at school. She deals drugs."

"Oh," Dana said, not sure what else to say.

"She seems okay," Kaeleigh said, not wanting to be rude to a girl she didn't know.

"Whatever," Ruby rolled her eyes. "I think she's a freak."

_You call her a freak, yet you're the one in a mental home, _Kaeleigh thought to herself. _You're the freak._

_We're the freaks._


	13. Broken Glass

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 13: Broken Glass

_All of the shit talk _

_Get on the chatter_

_Cuts like a knife, and kills like a dagger_

Sparks sat on his bed, cigarette in hand. He slowly rose it to his lips, and took a long drag of the toxic smoke. Zelia sat beside him, nearly mirroring his movements. She too had a cigarette, less than Sparks however, as she smoked faster. Sparks watched his room gradually grow into a smoky haze, closing his eyes slightly, as the air was dry.

"Are you sure your dad won't be mad?" Zelia asked for what seemed to be the zillionth time. Sparks shook his head no, and crushed his cigarette butt into a empty coffee cup.

"He wouldn't notice if he were in the room watching," Sparks said at last. "He's been unusually unobservant lately."

"Oh," Zelia crushed he butt into the cup Sparks used. "I feel bad for him, Sparks."

"I do too," Sparks said sadly. "Ever since the incident with Eli, he's been more than a little screwed up. I don't know what to do."

"What about your mom?" Zelia asked.

"Kit? She's okay, I guess. Spends a lot of time at my aunts, but she's alright."

"Okay," was all Zelia said. They sat in silence for a while, watching the smoke lazily drift around the room. Sparks was just about to get up to open a window when he heard someone stomping up the stairs. Zelia's eyes flew open in panic, but Sparks remained calm. He quietly opened his window, carefully as to not make a noise.

"Sparks?" Sparks heard Jayfeather yell, followed by a series of loud knocks. "Let me in!"

Sparks waved his hands around in a failed attempt to clear out the air before opening the door. His and Zelia's second hand smoke billowed out like a cloud in his dads face. Bracing himself for a fit of yelling and screaming, Sparks opened his mouth to make an excuse. To his surprise, Jayfeather walked in and sat down on his bed next to Zelia. He pulled out his own cigarette and lit it up, not saying a word about the smoky room. Zelia sat next to him, looking utterly bewildered. Sparks just shrugged.

"You know I don't like you having your door locked when Zelia's over," Jayfeather said after a few moments.

"Sorry, dad," Sparks said. "I'll keep it open next time."

"Thanks," Jayfeather smiled, flicking his ash from the smoke in the same cup Sparks and Zelia used to butt their smokes. Sparks scratched his head, starting to get confused.

"Will mom be home tonight?" Sparks asked, sitting down next to Zelia.

"I don't know," Jayfeather said mid drag. "It depends if she stays at Hollyleafs for dinner."

"They're becoming pretty good friends," Sparks hinted, looking for answers. "She seems to spend more time at her house then she does here."

"Yeah," was all Jayfeather said. Sparks watching in irritation as his father slowly finished his cigarette.

"Are you and mom okay?" Sparks finally blurted out. Jayfeather looked through the smoky air at his son. "We're fine," he said slowly. "We're just taking some space, for the sake of our relationship."

"And hows that working for you?"

"Not well," Jayfeather whispered. "Not well at all."

Sparks stared at Jayfeather, feeling sorry for him. The poor man hadn't shaved his face in weeks, long scratchy stubble covered his face. He was wearing the same green flannel shirt that he had been wearing all week, and his jeans had a soup stain on them from the week before. His eyes were dull, and his hair had grown out. It was long and greasy, sticking to his face in clumps. Then something broke in Sparks. "Dad, Kit doesn't want to stay with a bum."

"Probably not," Jayfeather said, voice monotone.

"Go have a shower," Sparks said, shaking his head. "We're going to see mom, and you need to look clean."

"I don't want to," Jayfeather said stubbornly.

"Dad, _now."_

Jayfeather swore and stood up. "Fine!" he snapped, then stalked out of the room. When he was gone, Sparks looked over at Zelia. "Sorry you had to hear that argument."

"It's fine," Zelia giggled. "It's cute how you look after your dad."

"Well, someone's got to," Sparks rolled his eyes. "The man is clearly not in a right state of mind."

"I think it's kind," Zelia said. "I always had to take care of my dad too before he died."

Sparks heart sank. "He's in a better place," he said at last. Zelia raised a hand to stop him from talking. "I know," she murmured. "I know."

_Meanwhile_

Jayfeather got out of the shower and sighed, for no reason in particular. He leaned down to grab the same green shirt, but then stopped. The shirt, _stank. _Jayfeather didn't understand how he didn't notice this before. He grabbed the shirt and pitched it into the dirty laundry hamper.

_I guess it wouldn't hurt to look nice, _Jayfeather thought to himself as he walked to his closet. He was just in the process in picking out a dress shirt when he stopped. He looked out his door, which was directly across from Sparks room. Jayfeather rolled his eyes as he noticed Sparks had shut his door again. Jayfeather walked over, prepared to talk to him again when he stopped. He was close enough to knock on the door, he even had his hand raised to knock, but something made him stop. He could smell the cigarette smoke seeping through the door, but that was not what was bothering him. What made him stop was the conversation he could hear Sparks and Zelia whispering through the door.

"I'm worried about him,"Sparks was saying. "He's getting more strange every day."

"Just give him time," Zelia replied quietly.

"I've given him months and months, but its not doing any good!" Sparks cried. "It keeps getting worse and worse and I'm scared he's going to snap!"

Jayfeather had heard enough. He gently pushed open the door to his room, not surprised to see Zelia and Sparks smoking again on his bed. Sparks looked up in surprise, smoke hanging from his mouth. Zelia gave a little scream, throwing her smoke across the room in panic. Wordlessly, Jayfeather walked over and picked it up. He quietly handed it back to Zelia, who took it with wide eyes.

"I heard you talking about me," Jayfeather choked. "I heard what you were saying."

"Dad, you weren't supposed to hear that," Sparks sputtered.

"You're worried about me," Jayfeather said numbly. "You're scared of what I'm becoming."

"It's because we care about you," Zelia choked, tears falling from her eyes. "Jayfeather, you're like my dad too."

"Do you know, what I went through as a child?" Jayfeather continued. Sparks and Zelia just shrugged.

"My father put me in an electric chair," Jayfeather murmured. "And he killed my brother, Lionblaze."

Sparks mouth fell open and Zelia gasped.

"He found your mother, Kit. He put an electric collar on her," Jayfeather said quietly. "And you know, I got over it. I lived through the sparks. I survived the volts. And I was okay. Well, mostly. But now everything's screwed up," Jayfeather sat down on the bed and held his head in his hands. "My daughter won't eat because her brain has been fried. This whole family is so fucking screwed up, and it's all my fault!"

He started to cry, and Sparks stared at him in disbelief. Zelia started crying too, and Sparks felt his face start to itch as if he were going to cry as well. But he forced the feeling away. _I don't cry, _Sparks thought to himself. _I don't cry, and I never w- _"For gods sake!" he hissed as Zelia started to wail. "Pull it together, both of you!"

Jayfeather looked up at him, face a distorted mixture of pain and confusion.

"I'm sick of all this bullshit!" Sparks cried. "I'm _sick _and _tired _of this fucking SHIT!"

"Sparks," Zelia started.

"No don't _Sparks _me!" Sparks screamed. "I hate this! I hate my life and I hate living each day with all this fucking sadness! Stop, just stop!" Sparks got up and left the room, slamming the door behind him. He stormed down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Eyes blinded by tears that forced their way into his eyes, Sparks tore open a cupboard and grabbed a glass. He screamed as he threw it at the wall. He watched it shatter into a million tiny pieces, and clatter to the ground. Sobbing, Sparks sank to the floor, holding his eyes with his hands. He sat that way for a long time, slumped against the wall. He didn't move until he felt someone gently touch his shoulder.

"Sparks," he heard his dad whisper. "Sparks, please get up."

Sparks moved his hands from his face, and looked up at his dad. Jayfeather looked sad, and his eyes were full of sorrow. "Sparks, he repeated. "Let's go see your mom."

Without a word, Sparks stood up and looked at the broken glass all over the floor. "I'm gonna clean that up," he said softly. Jayfeather just laughed. "It's okay, son," he whispered. He gently put his arm around Spark's shoulders. Sparks tensed, but didn't object.

"I love you, kiddo," Jayfeather said.

"Love you too, dad," Sparks mumbled. Jayfeather smiled, and Sparks was relieved to see some light finally entering his dads eyes.


	14. The Great Escape

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 14: The Great Escape

_And once, or twice, to throw the dice_

_Is a gentlemanly game,_

_But he does not win who plays with sin_

_In the secret house of shame_

Jayfeather turned around to face Sparks and Zelia, who were sitting in the back seat. "Should we stop for coffee?" he asked. "We could pick some up for your mom too."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Sparks said slowly. Jayfeather smiled and turned around again to face the road. Everyone had calmed down a fair bit in the past hour, the tears were gone, replaced with apprehension. Jayfeather had cleaned up well, his black hair was clean and combed behind his ears. He wore a navy blue long sleeved shirt, soft and comfortable, but thankfully not flannel. Jayfeather had shaved the fuzz of his face, making him look at least 10 years younger. Zelia had sprayed Jayfeather with a strawberry scented body mist, in an attempt to be helpful. Jayfeather had made a big show of choking and coughing on it for a solid five minutes.

"Alright, we're here," Jayfeather announced. "What kind of coffee does Kit like again?"

"Caramel latte, I think," Sparks said after a moments hesitation. Jayfeather nodded and got out of the car, Sparks and Zelia close behind. As they walked into the Starbucks, Sparks reached over and took Zelia's hand in his. She looked up at him in surprise, and Sparks just shrugged awkwardly. They followed Jayfeather to the Starbucks till, not saying anything to one another.

"Hi, uh, can I get a - what was it Sparks, a caramel mocha thing?"

"Carmel latte," Sparks rolled his eyes.

"Can I get a caramel latte," Jayfeather said to the man running the till. "And a large double double... do you kids want anything?"

"I'll have the same as you," Sparks replied.

"Same," Zelia piped in."

Jayfeather ordered the coffees and just when the guy was about to pass him the coffees, he stopped.

"What?" Jayfeather snapped.

"Are you Jayfeather?" the man asked, confused. Jayfeather just stared at him. "Uh, yeah."

"It's me, Graystripe," the man said. "Remember, from school?"

Jayfeather stared at him for a long few moments before he responded. "Wow," he said at last. "I didn't even recognize you."

"I have to go," Graystripe said. "There's a lineup."

Jayfeather turned around at the big lineup that had formed. "Oh jeez," he mumbled. "Sorry. Bye, Graystripe," and then he picked up the tray of coffees and they left.

"Was he an old friend?" Zelia asked once they were out of the store. Jayfeather smiled slightly. "Sort of, I guess," he passed Zelia her coffee and then passed Sparks his. "Now let's go see your mom."

...

"Eli, wake up."

Eli blinked open her eyes in the darkness. She jumped slightly when she realized there was two other girls in her room. "What's going on?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

Kaeleigh and Dana stood there, motioning for her to keep silent.

"What's going on ..." Eli whispered again. "And what are you two _wearing?"_

Kaeleigh was wearing all black, with black gloves and a black toque over her long hair. Dana was dressed the same, except she had an additional bandana over her mouth.

"We're getting out, tonight," Dana whispered. Eli stared at them, confused. "Well good luck with that," she said, and then flopped back down and closed her eyes. Kaeleigh reached out and poked her hard on the forehead.

"Ow!" Eli screamed.

"Sh!" Kaeleigh slapped her hand over her mouth. "Shut up!" she hissed.

"Why are you telling me you're leaving, anyway?" Eli mumbled, rubbing her head.

"Because you're coming with us," Kaeleigh smiled. "So get up. Now."

"We're gonna get caught," Eli mumbled, but she pulled herself up out of bed anyway and pulled on her sweater.

"No we won't," Dana said excitedly. Eli couldn't help noticing that Dana sounded nearly hysteric. "I took care of the guard."

"What do you mean, took care of the-"

"Come on!" Kaeleigh whispered, grabbing Eli by the wrist. "We need to go, now!"

She tiptoed over to Eli's window, and with one swift movement she opened it without a sound.

"Give me a boost," she instructed Dana. Dana ran over and cupped her hands to Kaeleigh to step into. Eli watched in disbelief. "Guys, that window is on the second floor," she said slowly. Then something else registered in her brain. The smell of alcohol had hit her the second Dana brushed past her to help Kaeleigh.

"Are you _drunk?" _Eli hissed. Dana giggled and Kaeleigh nodded one too many times.

"Good god," Eli shook her head. "You've both gone mad. Where did you get the alcohol?"

"The security guard," Dana said, hiccupping at the same time. "He had it in his pocket."

"And how did you take out the security guard in the first place?" Eli demanded, forgetting to be quiet for a moment.

"She leaped him from behind and bit him," Kaeleigh explained, as she finally managed to climb up to the windowsill. Dana nodded proudly. Eli rubbed the back of her head, realizing that nothing really felt real right now.

"Are you coming or not?" Dana whispered, breaking Eli from her thoughts. "Yeah," she said at last. "Yeah, I guess I am," and with that she placed her foot in Dana's cupped hands, and she felt herself being boosted to the windowsill. It was a challenge to sit up there with Kaeleigh taking up most of the room, but somehow she managed.

"Goddamn, you both weigh like 50 pounds. One would think you both wouldn't be so squished," Dana giggled. Then her face turned serious. _"Shit!" _she hissed. Eli looked at Kaeleigh, confused. But her unspoken question was answered the next second.

The mental home alarm had gone off.

"Go!" Dana hissed. Kaeleigh gave Eli one last desperate glance before pushing herself off the edge. Eli watched in cold fear, terrified the drop was too large for Kaeleigh to handle. Luckily, it wasn't. Kaeleigh picked herself off the ground slowly, face contorted with pain. But she was okay.

"Help me up!" Dana whispered, eyes wide and arms reached out. Eli stared at her in fear. The alarm was growing louder, and the sounds of footsteps in the hall were getting noticeably closer to her room. Eli reached out her arms, and tried to pull Dana up. But Dana was much heavier than Eli, and Eli's undernourished body was weak and couldn't physically lift Dana to safety.

"I'm sorry," Eli whispered, tears rising in her eyes as she dropped Dana's hands. "I'm so sorry."

And then she jumped.

...

Jayfeather knocked on the door to Hollyleafs house, balancing his two coffees in his other hand. A few moments later, the door slowly creaked open, and Hollyleafs face peered out.

"I wasn't expecting you," she said in surprise.

"I want to see my wife," Jayfeather said at once. "Can we come in?"

"We?" Hollyleaf said confused, then she noticed Sparks and Zelia. "Oh. You brought the whole crew. Well, come on in, I guess."

Jayfeather walked into her house, and kicked off his shoes on a flimsy looking shoe rack. Hollyleaf led them down the hall and into the living room, where Kit was sitting on the couch watching TV. The room smelled, and cats were everywhere. A cat ran up and pressed his body against Jayfeathers leg, meowing loudly.

"Hi there," Jayfeather greeted the cat. The sound of his voice made Kit snap her head in his direction. Jayfeather awkwardly waved. Kit stood up, but fell back over. The cords leading to her neck got snagged in the couch cushion. "Ow," she whispered. Jayfeather set the coffees down on the coffee table and gently untangled the wires. "You need to be careful," he murmured.

"I know," Kit said, not meeting his gaze. Jayfeather avoided an awkward silence by quickly grabbing her coffee and handing it to her. "I bought this for you," he smiled. Kit took it and took a sip. "Caramel?" she said in surprise. "How did you know that was my favorite?"

"You're my wife, Kit," Jayfeather sighed. "I know this kind of stuff."

The stood in silence for a few moments, everyone not really knowing what to say. Sparks and Zelia awkwardly sat down on the dirty couch, breaking the silent spell.

"Your couch smells like old soup," Sparks said to Hollyleaf.

"That's probably because I spilled soup on it a long time ago."

"Well why don't you clean it?" Sparks asked, annoyed. Hollyleaf just shrugged.

"Are you going to be staying here tonight?" Jayfeather quietly asked Kit. Kit looked at him with wide, sad eyes. "I don't know," she whispered.

"I want you to come home," Jayfeather said, deciding to get straight to the point. "I miss you."

"I'll think about it," Kit said, looking down at the ground. "I already promised Hollyleaf I would stay here."

"Ok," Jayfeather said slowly. "Do whatever you want, I guess."

_**Oh, and Happy Birthday, Laura. This chapter was for you! **_


	15. Sleeping on the Streets

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 15: Sleeping on the Streets

_It's a damn cold night,_

_Trying to figure out this life_

_Isn't anyone trying to find me,_

_Won't somebody come take me home_

Eli ran through the cold night air, Kaeleigh by her side. The outside was dark, and stars dotted their way across the sky. The damp grass soaked through Eli's socks, and she wished desperately that she had put on her shoes. The alarm bells chimed loudly in the distance, and Eli could dimly hear people shouting and yelling. Then they came across a fence, and Eli stopped running. It was so high, she didn't see how Kaeleigh and her were going to get over it. She turned to Kaeleigh, eyes wide.

"What do we do?" Eli whispered. Her feet were beginning to go numb, and she was shaking from the cold. Her thin striped sweater was no match for winters icy wind. Kaeleigh reached out and touched it. "We can climb it," she said at last. Eli was suddenly under the impression Kaeleigh was talking more confidently then she felt.

"Well, we're gonna have to try," Eli gulped, looking behind her. "They're coming."

Kaeleigh looked back as well, gasping as she saw a team of security guards charging towards them.

"Go!" Kaeleigh shoved Eli into the fence, and together they climbed up. The wire mesh dug into Eli's feet, but she forced herself not to stop. She used her numb fingers to haul herself up, and taking a deep breath she jumped from the top of the fence to the ground. Eli then screamed as she landed on her ankle. Kaeleigh jumped down beside her and roughly hauled her up, and together they ran away into the night.

_Later_

Eli held onto Kaeleighs shoulder as she limped along, wincing every time she moved her foot. Kaeleigh used her arm to help hold Eli up, feet moving with tired, sluggish steps. They had been walking for hours, and so far had not found a decent place to sleep. The city was dark, yet glowed bright with colorful lights. People walked past them, not even giving them a second glance. Eli knew they were lost. She knew they were screwed. But most of all, she knew she was exhausted. Eli slid out from under Kaeleighs arm and flopped onto the sidewalk.

"What are you doing?" Kaeleigh asked, staring down at her. Eli started to cry. "I want to go home," she whispered. "I'm cold and hungry and tired and I don't want to be here!"

"We're gonna get you home," Kaeleigh whispered, sitting down next to Eli. "You'll see Sparks and the rest of your family soon."

"Why do you care so much," Eli sniffed. "Don't you want to go home too?"

Kaeleigh laughed shortly. "Home isn't much more then here," she whispered. "My family doesn't care."

"Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Kaeleigh looked to the ground. "Not now."

Eli opened her mouth to respond but stopped when she felt a raindrop hit her nose. "Oh, great," she sighed. "If it couldn't get any worse already," she pulled her legs in closer to her, examining the dirt streaked up her pajamas. Her socks were a filthy, soggy mess. Eli longed for the feeling of soft, warm socks.

"Eli, do you want one?"

Eli looked over at Kaeleigh, who was offering her a cigarette out of a full pack.

"Where did you get those?" Eli asked, taking one. _Who the hell cares anymore, _Eli thought as she used Kaeleighs lighter to light it. _It's not as if they're's anyone out here to disappoint._

"Stole them off the guard Dana bit," Kaeleigh smiled slightly, then abruptly frowned. "Where did she go, anyway?"

"She couldn't get up the windowsill in time," Eli explained, ashamed. "I had to leave her behind."

"It was probably for the best," Kaeleigh said. "She's probably in a soft warm bed while we're, uh, here."

Eli just nodded, taking a puff off her smoke. The rancid taste stung her throat and made her eyes burn, but she smoked it anyway, wondering just how the hell her life had hit such a rock bottom. They sat in silence for a while, chain smoking the cigarettes until there was no more left to smoke. Eli was just starting to drift off when something caught her eye. She looked to her right, curious. A man was looking at her, motioning for her to come his way. Scared, Eli nudged Kaeleigh to wake her up.

"What?" Kaeleigh mumbled, raising her head off Eli's shoulder.

"There's someone waving, over there," Eli said quietly. Kaeleigh narrowed her eyes at the man before she spoke. "I think he thinks we're for hire," she explained. Eli was confused. Kaeleigh sighed loudly. "You know, like a call girl."

Eli still didn't know what she meant.

"God, Eli. He thinks we're _prostitutes."_

"Oh," Eli said, understanding hitting her at once. She turned to the man, and shook her head no. The man just shrugged and walked away.

"Wait, I have an idea," Kaeleigh then stood up and ran over towards the man. Eli called her back, but it was no use. Kaeleigh had already approached him. Eli groaned and picked herself off the ground. She hobbled over to them, forcing herself to ignore the ripping feeling in her ankle.

"Can I use your cell phone?" Kaeleigh was saying. The man had a evil smile on his face. "What do I get in return?"

"We don't have any money," Eli blurted out.

"I don't want your money," the man said simply.

"If I do you a favor, will you let her use your phone?" Kaeleigh said at last. Eli whipped her head around to stare at her, mouth agape. "Kaeleigh, no," she whispered. Then she turned and fixed the man with a hard stare. "Thank you, we're not interested," she said sharply, grabbing Kaeleigh by the arm. "Kaeleigh, let's _go."_

Kaeleigh ignored her.

The man pulled out his phone and handed it to Eli. Eli took it, confused on why Kaeleigh was still standing there. The man grabbed Kaeleigh by the wrist, and started leading her away.

"Wait, no!" Eli cried. "Kaeleigh, stop! I don't need to use the phone!"

"Call your dad," Kaeleigh said over her shoulder. Tears were running down her face. "Go home, Eli."

"But what about you?" Eli sobbed, letting go of her hand. "What will you do?"

"I'll figure it out," Kaeleigh said quietly "Go, Eli. Get out of here. Don't worry about me."

Then the man dragged her away, behind an alley. Eli stood crying in the middle of the sidewalk, realizing what Kaeleigh just did to save her. _I'll make it up to you, _Eli thought miserably as she opened the cell phone. Her fingers shook violently as she dialed her home. _I promise Kaeleigh, I won't forget this. _The phone rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" he said.

"Dad, hi. It's me, Eli," Eli said, voice cracking. "I need you to come get me."


	16. Finale

Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2

Chapter 16: Finale

_I didn't get where I am today,_

_By letting myself get pushed, around_

_No man nor beast, no kitty cat, or doggy..._

_Is going to drag me down. _

_The lightning, will be crashing_

_The thunder, it will roar_

_They'll never know what hit them..._

_When they see what I have in store... _

**2 years later.**

"Happy birthday Sparks!"

Sparks blew out the candles on his birthday cake, leaving no flame remaining. The 20 candles drifted smoke off the wicks, and Sparks hoped the fire alarm wouldn't go off.

"Did you make a wish?" his sister, Eli asked as she started to pull the candles out of the chocolate icing.

"I forgot."

"Sparks!" Eli narrowed her eyes. "How could you forget?"

Sparks just shrugged and licked a bit of icing off his finger.

"Are you ready for your present?" Jayfeather asked, thrusting a pink and blue wrapped box into his sons hands. Sparks took the gift and looked up at his father. Jayfeather was smiling, his eyes crinkled up in happiness. His ice blue eyes sparkled, making Sparks icy heart warm.

"Open it already!" Hollyleaf demanded from where she was sitting on the couch. Sparks tried not to roll his eyes as he noticed Hollyleaf was talking with her mouth full of chips, resulting in crumbs falling all over her shirt. Next to Hollyleaf, Eli sat there, drinking a cup of orange juice. When she noticed Sparks staring at her she smiled encouragingly. Sparks ripped the paper off the box, smiling when he saw what was inside. It was a collectors set of Criminal Minds, with all the seasons and extra features.

"Thanks," Sparks said to Jayfeather. Jayfeather beamed and looked away. Sparks was just about to ask when he could eat his cake when the door banged open. He turned his head to see his mom, with Zelia behind her. Sparks got up at once, and walked towards Zelia. Zelia smiled warily, and looked down at what she was holding.

"Do you want to see daddy?" she murmured to the little baby huddled in her chest. "It's daddys birthday today!"

Sparks held out his hands and took his son from Zelia, who looked relieved from the break. "Sorry we're late," Zelia apologized. "Lionblaze lost a shoe on the way here and we had to backtrack."

"It's fine," Sparks whispered, cradling baby Lionblaze.

...

Jayfeather held Lionblaze in his arms, gently rocking back and forth on his chair. Lionblaze was sleeping, Jayfeather gently stroked his soft hair on top of his head. Jayfeather sat thinking to himself, and what had become of his life. _One minute I'm a kid, and the next minute I'm holding my sons sixth month old son. _Jayfeather smiled at the baby. _You're so innocent, _he thought. _I promise I will never let anything bad happen to you. _

_I promise, I will never let the cold wires of lightning touch your hands. _

_I promise, you will never feel the horrors of sparks and volts._

_I promise, you will be safe._

The End

**Well, we've reached the end of Jayfeathers Room of Lightning 2. Thank you everyone, who has followed my story until the end... I feel sad to see it finish. Thank you for all the encouraging and nice reviews, they've been amazing! And I'd just like to apologize, I used the same song in two of the chapters without realizing... ugh. Whatever, it's done now. And just so everyone knows, there will be a third book. :)**

Credits to the songs I used: (Poems I wrote for some of the chapters not included)

One More Night

-Maroon 5

Bad Girlfriend

-Theory of a Deadman

This is Halloween

-Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack

Smile

-Avril Lavigne

I'm With You

-Avril Lavigne

Demons

-Tech N9ne

You Drive Me (Crazy)

-Britney Spears

Love Into the Light

-Ke$ha

Big and Loud

-Cats Don't Dance Soundtrack


End file.
